Liverpool pay emotional tribute to Jota in pre-season win over Preston | OneFootball

Liverpool and Preston North End paid heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota on Sunday during a pre-season friendly at Deepdale, following the tragic death of the Portuguese forward.

The pre-season friendly at Deepdale marked Liverpool’s first outing since Jota and his younger brother, André Silva were killed in a car accident near Zamora, Spain, on 3 July.

Before kick-off, Preston captain Ben Whiteman laid a wreath in front of Liverpool’s travelling supporters, followed by an emotional rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Both sides wore black armbands, and the stadium fell silent for a minute’s tribute to the brothers - a powerful and respectful moment shared by all.

Several senior players, including Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson, weren’t part of the squad, instead watching from the stands as they continue to build up their fitness ahead of the new season.

On the pitch, Arne Slot gave debuts to new arrivals Giorgi Mamardashvili, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez, mixing things up by naming two separate XIs for each half.

Conor Bradley opened the scoring in the first half, finishing neatly to give the Reds a narrow lead at the break.

The hosts struggled to create clear chances, and Darwin Núñez made it 2–0 after calmly rounding Daniel Iversen and slotting home early in the second half.

Liam Lindsay pulled one back for the hosts late on, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Cody Gakpo added a third in the dying minutes to seal a 3-1 win for Liverpool.

A solid start to pre-season for Slot’s side, but more importantly, a day to remember and honour Diogo Jota - a talented player and beloved teammate taken far too soon.