Championship side pay touching tribute in Liverpool’s first game since Jota death

A brilliant gesture.

Liverpool are playing their first game since the death of Diogo Jota this afternoon, in a preseason friendly against Preston North End at Deepdale.

Ben Whiteman, the captain of the Championship side, laid a wreath in front of the Liverpool support, while 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was played.

The Reds also made their voices heard, singing the 'Jota song', while a period of silence was also held, with the sides at the centre circle.

In his first interview since the tragedy, manager Arne Slot said: "If we want to laugh, we laugh; if we want to cry, we're going to cry.

"If they want to train they can train, if they don't want to train they can not train. But be yourself, don't think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.

"We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go.

"Nothing seems to be 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.

"What I've said to the players, I can say it here as well. It's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate. 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. And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his team-mates, to the staff, he was always himself. So let us try to be ourselves as well."