LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool players and fans paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, on Friday at the first competitive match at Anfield since their death last month.
Ahead of kickoff in the 4-2 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League, Liverpool fans held up placards to spell out “DJ20” and “AS30” in two of the stands during a period of silence in honor of the Portuguese players, who were killed in a car crash in Spain. Players from the Liverpool team stood arm-in-arm around the center circle.
Both teams' players wore black armbands, as did Liverpool manager Arne Slot and members of his backroom staff.
Before that, there was a rendition of “You'll Never Walk Alone” as banners, flags and scarves commemorating Jota were waved in the crowd. A picture of Jota and Silva was shown on the big screen.
After the final whistle, Mohamed Salah — the scorer of Liverpool's final goal — was in tears as he stood in front of the storied Kop stand and kept going a song about Jota that was being chanted by the home supporters.
Jota played for Liverpool for the past five seasons, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, and the club has retired his No. 20 jersey number.
Liverpool will have a permanent memorial sculpture at Anfield to honor Jota.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
