2 days ago
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Wolves produced a remarkable tribute to Diogo Jota as the club unveiled a huge tifo from the top of Molineux's South Bank stand ahead of the team's Premier League opener against Manchester City.
The tifo portrayed Jota celebrating a goal during his Wolves days; Jota spent three seasons at Molineux between 2017 and 2020, playing a key role in restoring and establishing Wolves' status as a Premier League club.
Alongside the tifo, a banner was held up on the pitch which contained the words: "We'll remember you when you walk in fields of gold."
Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso, was in attendance for the game between Wolves and City, and she was joined by Ruben Neves, a former Wolves teammate of Jota's and a pallbearer at his funeral, following the Portugal international's tragic death last month.
The parents of Jota and Andre Silva, who died alongside his brother in the car crash in Spain, were also in attendance for the game — Isabel and Joaquim Silva were moved to tears by the tribute.
As the clock ticked past the 18-minute mark in the game, fans around the stadium rose and applauded for 60 seconds in tribute to Jota, who wore the No.18 jersey for Wolves.
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020, spending five years at Anfield, and Liverpool's Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Friday also featured plenty of tributes to Jota.
The game was level at two goals apiece heading into the 88th minute, when substitute Federico Chiesa volleyed home to put the Reds 3-2 in front and set the team on the way to victory.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said that he would have loved to have been able to call on Diogo Jota as the Reds chased a winner.
Addressing the substitution that ended up winning the game, Slot recalled how frequently he would turn to Jota when Liverpool needed a goal last season.
"Normally at 2-2 everyone knows which player I look to at that moment in time," Slot said about Jota, who scored vital goals off the bench against Fulham and Nottingham Forest last term.
"I would have loved to bring in Diogo Jota, but I could not for terrible reasons. But tonight the fans and the players did what he did for us many times in the past."
Match-winner Chiesa also credited Jota in a post-game interview, saying: "[The goal] was a great moment for me, but my thoughts go to Diogo.
"I think for what we have seen it was his day. The feeling that the fans gave me, chanting his song all the way through the match. It was very emotional, very emotional for me. I have to say that after the goal my thoughts went to his family, his brother Andre. That's the only thing I could say.
"At the end of the day we have to focus on the football. We wanted to win today. It was a difficult match, we went 2-0 up and then they came back, but we showed why we are champions.
"Of course Diogo would have helped us a lot but unfortunately he was somewhere else and he helped us in another way."
English (US) ·