Darwin Nunez scores as Liverpool begin pre-season with emotional victory over Preston
This match marked Liverpool’s first game since the tragic passing of Diogo Jota, who died alongside his brother, Andre Silva
Liverpool kicked off their summer preseason with a 3-1 victory over Preston North End.
The match marked the Reds’ first outing since the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, and was preceded by heartfelt tributes honoring the two.
Head coach Arne Slot fielded two different starting lineups across the two halves at Deepdale on Sunday afternoon. Giorgi Mamardashvili featured in the first half, while Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez appeared in the second.
Conor Bradley opened the scoring just after the 30-minute mark. Darwin Nunez extended the lead early in the second half, and Cody Gakpo sealed the win with a late third goal. Liam Lindsay scored a consolation goal for Preston.
The Premier League champions begin their preparations for the 2025-26 season with a win that will be remembered most for the moving tribute to Diogo and Andre.
Special tributes were paid to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva during Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Preston North End today.
Ahead of kick-off, a live performance of You’ll Never Walk Alone was held, accompanied by the home team laying a wreath alongside the away supporters.
A minute of silence was observed, with tributes displayed on the stadium’s screens and pitchside LED boards. Both teams wore black armbands in memory of Diogo and Andre.
In his first interview since Jota’s death, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told Liverpool TV: “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,” he added.
“It’s very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate. Can we train again? Can we laugh again? 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 teammates, to the staff, he was always himself. So let us try to be ourselves as well.”
The Dutchman concluded: “I’ve only worked with him for a season and in that season he has been so important for me, for the club, for the fans, for his teammates in difficult moments.
“So, I can come up with the Everton goal, I can come up with some other goals – Fulham when we were down to 10.
“Even the last game we played against Crystal Palace when we were down to 10 and 1-0 down, he came in and took the ball in our own half, led to us scoring the 1-1. That is the football player that is in my mind.
“But I think what I take comfort in [is that] in the last month of his life he was a champion in everything.
“A champion for his family, which is the main and most important thing, because he got married.
“A champion for his country because he won the Nations League, [with] a country that he cared about so much, because he also wore the flag when we had celebrations. And of course a champion for us by winning the Premier League.”
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