Liverpool faced Wolves for the first time since Diogo Jota, who played for the two Premier League clubs, tragically died in a car crash alongside his brother in July
Diogo Jota's children as mascots
Diogo Jota's children were mascots at Anfield and walked out with Virgil van Dijk
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Anfield was awash with emotion as Liverpool and Wolves paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota, with his widow and children in attendance. Liverpool star Jota was tragically killed in July when he and his younger brother, Andre Silva, were involved in a car crash in Spain.
The Portuguese was 28, having spent the last five years of his life playing for Liverpool. That was after three seasons at Wolves, who he helped achieve promotion to the Premier League and qualify for Europe.
Both clubs were devastated by his passing, with tributes paid at each of their stadiums over the course of the season. On Saturday, the two teams met for the first time since Jota died.
Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso - who he married just two weeks before his death - was watching from the stands at Anfield. Two of their three children, Dinis and Duarte, were mascots and walked out alongside the players ahead of kick-off as an emotional version of You'll Never Walk Alone was sung from the Anfield stands.
His family previously attended Liverpool's opening game of the season at home to Bournemouth and Wolves vs Man City at Molineux in August. Two mosaics across two stands were unfurled during a minute's silence, reading: 'DJ 20' and 'AS 30'.
A banner on the Kop also read: "Rute, Dinis, Duarte, Mafalda — Anfield will always be your home." Mafalda is Jota's one-year-old daughter.
The following day, Rute was at Molineux for Wolves' opener against Manchester City. She stood alongside Jota's parents, who could be seen wiping away their tears, and his long-time team-mate, Ruben Neves.
The entire Wolves squad were driven to Anfield on Boxing Day to pay respects at Jota's memorial era outside of the stadium. Interim executive chairman Nathan Shi, head coach Rob Edwards and goalkeeper Jose Sa laid wreaths outside Anfield.
Rute Cardoso, wife of former Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers player, Diogo Jota
Rute Cardoso was in the stands at Anfield
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Liverpool fans regularly pay tribute to Jota by singing his chant in the 20th minute of each match, a nod to his shirt number, which has been retired in honour of the forward. In his programme notes, Liverpool manager Arne Slot looked back on what's been a turbulent 12 months at the club.
"Doing so leads me to think especially of the family of Diogo Jota on what will be their first Christmas without him," Slot wrote. "It is not my place to tell them where they should look for comfort - if that is even possible - but I can only hope that the feeling of love and affection that Diogo still generates brings them some solace.
Fans of Wolves leave a scarf with a messages for Diogo Jota
Tributes and messages for Diogo Jota were left outside Anfield
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"The sense of loss will be particularly strong on Saturday, of course, as it will be the first time that Diogo's two English teams will meet since his tragic passing. Like us, Wolves were clearly very affected by the loss of such a special player and person so my thoughts continue to be with them also."
Reds captain Virgil van Dijk wrote in his notes: "The loss of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in July was something none of us could ever have prepared for, and something all of us are still coming to terms with. Our thoughts, as ever, remain with Diogo and Andre's family. They will never, ever be forgotten, and we will carry their memory always."
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