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Liverpool boss Arne Slot said it had been difficult for the team to get back to work after the death of Diogo Jota and so he had suggested to his players that perhaps the best way forward was to follow their late teammate’s shining example.
Liverpool kicked off their pre-season friendlies with a 3-1 win at Preston North End on Sunday, 10 days after Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain on July 3.
“What I’ve said to the players, it’s very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate,” Slot said in an emotional interview with Liverpool’s in-house media.
“What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate (for) what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there’s a wrong decision?
“And I’ve said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was,” he added. “And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn’t matter if he was talking to me, to his teammates, to the staff, he was always himself.
“So let us try to be ourselves as well. So, if we want to laugh we laugh; if we want to cry we’re going to cry.”
Flags and scarves commemorating Jota dotted Preston’s Deepdale Stadium, and tears flowed when fans sang Liverpool’s club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Preston captain Ben Whiteman solemnly laid a wreath in front of the travelling Reds supporters, while the players and fans then observed a minute’s silence.
At the start of the 20th minute, the crowd burst into Jota’s song, set to the tune of “Bad Moon Rising”.
Darwin Nunez paid tribute to Jota after scoring Liverpool’s second to make it 2-0 with Jota’s goal celebration, dropping to the floor to mimic playing a video game.
Conor Bradley and Cody Gakpo were also on target for Liverpool.
Liverpool had delayed the return of players to pre-season training as most of them attended the funeral in Portugal last week.
The club announced on Friday that they would permanently retire Jota’s number 20.
Slot said the 28-year-old, who played a key role in Liverpool winning the Premier League title this past season, was one player he could always count on in difficult moments.
“I always looked at him and said, ‘now we need something special from you’,” Slot said. “And he delivered so many times. I can come up with all of these moments.
“So we are in a very difficult time, so let’s try to do what Diogo did so many times. If it’s so difficult then try a little bit harder or just keep on going and try to make it work.”
Slot, who said the team would always carry Jota in their hearts, added that it was a challenge to see anything, including football, as “important if we think of what has happened”.
“But we are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.”
