Liverpool will play their first match of pre-season on Sunday afternoon in the most difficult and sombre of circumstances.
Until nine days ago, the Reds would’ve been eagerly anticipating the fixture against Preston on 13 July as a sun-kissed return to action for the Premier League champions in which our summer signings might feature for the first time.
Instead, the football will be secondary at Deepdale, with the occasion instead set to be an emotional one as both clubs pay tribute to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva after they were killed in a car crash in northern Spain.
Liverpool will be motivated to ‘do it for Diogo’ this season
Ahead of that fixture, Liverpool Echo journalist Theo Squires has reflected on how, despite the timing feeling as though it’s ‘too soon’ after the tragedy, it could offer an opportunity for the players to provide comfort to one another and to the family and friends of the two men who died.
He wrote: ‘These Liverpool players have achieved extraordinary things numerous times in recent years, often with Jota alongside them, but they now face their most difficult challenge yet as they return to action without the Portuguese – with his absence painfully glaring.
‘But the football pitch is their happy place as they all take to the field together. Hopefully, such unity will create strength in their toughest of times. They do so knowing they will at least have an entire Liverpool fanbase behind them.
‘As Jota’s friends, family and loved ones continue to grieve after this devastating loss, maybe the scenes that will unfold at Deepdale can at least provide some comfort too, reiterating just how much the Portuguese was loved far and beyond from his hometown of Gondomar.
‘Diogo Jota would want Liverpool to win. And Diogo Jota would want Liverpool to go into the new season on a mission to defend their Premier League crown and challenge for every possible honour going. As the Reds prepare to return to action, they will inevitably be motivated by a desire to ‘Do it for Diogo’.’
Tomorrow will be a tough day for Liverpool as they return to the pitch
Results in pre-season friendlies don’t greatly matter, and the scoreline at Deepdale tomorrow will be irrelevant amid the infinitely greater importance of paying Diogo the tributes that he deserves.
At the same time, the players will want to honour him by putting in a performance befitting of the standards that he consistently displayed in his five years at Anfield, and to continue doing so throughout the coming weeks and months.
The match against Preston is going to be extremely emotional and psychologically challenging, but with Liverpool deciding that they wish to go ahead with the fixture – a decision that the Lancashire club graciously left up to them – it could see them take a significant first step towards restoring a sense of routine and normality after the tragic events of 3 July.
Once the players come through tomorrow’s game, the subsequent fixtures will likely be easier to fulfil, and they could view getting back on the pitch as the ideal release for their grief.
We all want the Reds to be successful in the coming season, but irrespective of the results which materialise throughout the next few months, the squad can be assured of the fullest of support from the club’s fans as they attempt to come to terms with an unspeakable tragedy.
