The first game of FC Liverpool on the Anfield Road after the death of Diogo Jota was characterized by grief and deep sympathy. Diogo Jota and his younger brother André Silva died in a car accident in Spain on the night of July 3. They were 28 and 25 years old.
Before the double test against Athletic Bilbao on Monday, representatives of both clubs resigned wreaths with persistent applause. Fans held the banners, scarves and flags with the port of Portuguese professional’s portrait, and they sang the song that they had once devoted to Jota for minutes. A particularly emotional one followed “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Captain Virgil van Dijk described his feelings in the stadium booklet.
Van Dijk: “Surreal”
“It’s still a bit surreal”wrote the Dutch, “But as a team, we deal with it as best as possible. It was strange to continue with our work, football. We will never forget Diogo and try to honor his memory.” This includes taking care of the bereaved: “The family’s pain is unimaginable.”
Test game interrupted in the 20th minute
Two games should be followed by the Basques, for Liverpool it is the last tests before the game for the Community Shield (Supercup) against cup winner Crystal Palace on Sunday in Wembley. The first game began in the evening (4-1 for Liverpool) with a “1b” team without the top-class Bundesliga access Florian Wirtz (from Bayer Leverkusen) and Hugo Ekitiké (by Eintracht Frankfurt). It was interrupted in the 20th minute for a minute of commemoration – Jota had worn the number 20, the club will no longer be awarded it.
Before the game in the afternoon, the stadium had to be cleared for a false alarm. Before the kick -off, the fans were asked to leave the stadium again. The game against Bilbao could then be kicked off on time and finished.