Liverpool remembers Diogo Jota in first preseason friendly

Liverpool paid a special tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, before their 3-1 preseason friendly win against Preston North End at Deepdale.

Liverpool and Preston remember Jota and Silva.

This was Liverpool's first match of the 2025-2026 preseason, and their first since the deaths of Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva, 25, in a car accident near Zamora, Spain on 3/7.

20 minutes before kickoff between Liverpool and Preston at Deepdale on 13/7, the chant "Oh, his name is Diogo" rang out for the first time.

Preston captain, Ben Whiteman, walked onto the pitch before the match, carrying a wreath to place in front of the away fans' section. Liverpool's traditional anthem, "You’ll Never Walk Alone", was then sung, and images of Jota and Silva from their time at Porto were displayed on the big screen.

Both teams then emerged wearing black armbands and observed a minute's silence in memory of the brothers.

20 minutes after the match began, the entire stadium rose to remember Jota. Liverpool has retired the number 20 shirt, worn by Jota since he joined the club in 2020.

Defender Virgil van Dijk and new $170 million signing Florian Wirtz were absent from this match. However, Liverpool still boasted stars like Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Ryan Gravenberch.

Giorgi Mamardashvili made his first start in goal for Liverpool. The Anfield club acquired the Georgian goalkeeper from Valencia for $33 million in the summer of 2024. He spent last season on loan in Spain before officially joining Liverpool for the 2025-2026 season.

Liverpool opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a close-range effort from Conor Bradley. The 22-year-old and new signing Jeremie Frimpong will compete for the right-back position, vacated by Trent Alexander-Arnold who transferred to Real Madrid.

In the 53rd minute, Darwin Nunez capitalized on a defensive error from Preston, racing through, rounding the goalkeeper, and slotting the ball into an empty net. The Uruguayan forward recreated Jota's familiar celebration – sitting down and mimicking playing a video game.

Preston narrowed the gap in the 83rd minute with a powerful header from Liam Lindsay. Liverpool restored their two-goal advantage just five minutes later with a curled finish from Cody Gakpo.

For seven minutes after the match, Liverpool fans in the stands chanted Jota's name. During this time, Liverpool players, coaching staff, and backroom personnel stood before the fans, clapping along to the rhythm of the chant.

Manager Arne Slot's team will continue their preseason with a tour of Asia. Liverpool's next match is against AC Milan at Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong at 1:30 AM on 27/7, Hanoi time.

Liverpool did not conduct any interviews before or after the friendly with Preston.

However, manager Arne Slot shared some emotional words with Liverpool's media channel. The Dutch manager found solace in the fact that Jota achieved so much in his final months, winning the Premier League with Liverpool, the UEFA Nations League with Portugal, and marrying Rute Cardoso.

Slot added that the support Liverpool received not only from their own fans but also from Everton, from across England, and around the world, "means representing this club in this city now means even more to me and my wife than it did before".

Liverpool 3-0 Preston highlights.