Arne Slot says he hopes the outpouring of love from everyone connected to Liverpool Football Club can provide comfort to the family of Diogo Jota ahead of an emotional afternoon at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool will face Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jota’s former club, in their first meeting since the Portuguese forward tragically died in a car accident alongside his brother, Andre Silva, in early July.
Jota was travelling through northern Spain on his way back to Merseyside for pre-season when a tyre blowout caused the fatal crash.
Jota’s wife, Rute, will attend the match with their sons, Dinis and Duarte, who are set to be mascots.
The 28-year-old joined Liverpool from Wolves in 2020 and went on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his five years at the club.
Slot paid tribute to the No.20 in his pre-match programme notes ahead of the visit of bottom-placed Wolves.
“That ability to be united has been one of our most important qualities throughout a year which has brought us some of our highest highs and our lowest lows,” Slot says.
“Reflecting on everything that has happened over the last 12 months ignites a rollercoaster of emotions but it is normal at this time of year to look back to everything that has happened.
“Doing so leads me to think especially of the family of Diogo Jota on what will be their first Christmas without him. It is not my place to tell them where they should look for comfort – if that is even possible – but I can only hope that the feeling of love and affection that Diogo still generates brings them some solace.
“The sense of loss will be particularly strong on Saturday, of course, as it will be the first time that Diogo’s two English teams will meet since his tragic passing.
“Like us, Wolves were clearly very affected by the loss of such a special player and person so my thoughts continue to be with them also.”
Slot adds: “I would like to welcome Rob Edwards, his players and staff as well as the supporters and directors of Wolves to Anfield for the game.
“They arrive fighting for their future but regardless of their current position in the Premier League table we will expect the kind of test that we faced against them twice last season when we managed to come out on top in two very difficult games.
“This is just the way the Premier League is, which makes it so, so important to be on the right side of the small margins. Lately, we have been able to do that more often than had been the case in previous weeks so we need this to continue.
“Ideally, we will also start to put ourselves in a position in which we can even give ourselves a bit more comfort but as I said earlier in these notes, there is a lot of work to do if we want to reach this stage.”
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