
Irish League Takeaway: No gentle testing of the waters as Premiership returns with a splash
Cracking goals, an astonishing comeback and controversy — the Sports Direct Premiership is up and running. If your summer was dull, now the fun can begin.
It will take a while for the League to settle down, but every side wants early points to keep anxiety to a minimum.

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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Diogo Jota's emotional widow takes in Wolves' incredible tributes to former Liverpool star as his ex team-mates fight back tears during minute's applause
Wolves paid a heartfelt tribute to former player Diogo Jota ahead of their clash with Manchester City. Jota and his brother Andre Silva passed away in a car crash in Spain on July 3. Wolves returned to Molineux for their first Premier League game since the tragedy, observing a minute's silence and featuring Jota on the front of the match programme. Fans held up a striking tifo of Jota in the stands, who spent five years with the club. A banner below the tifo read: 'We'll remember you when you walk in fields of gold', in reference to Jota's favourite song, Fields of Gold by Sting. Jota's widowed wife, Rute Cardoso, his parents, and former Wolves and Portugal teammate Ruben Neves watched from the stands, visibly emotional. Goalkeeper also Jose Sa appeared to fight back tears as both sets of players lined up on the centre circle for a minute's applause. In the 18th minute, fans at Molineux applauded in tribute to the shirt number he wore during his time at the club. Jota joined Wolves on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2017 and helped them win the Championship title before spending another two full seasons with them permanently. All in all, he scored 44 goals in 131 games for Wolves as they got promoted, then finished seventh twice and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2019-20. He became a modern hero for the Midlands side, breaking numerous records before his £41million move to Liverpool in 2020, where he went on to win the Premier League. Jota scored back-to-back hat-tricks against Besiktas and Espanyol at Molineux in the Europa League, becoming the club's first player to do that. That three-goal salvo against Besiktas came in 11 minutes, the club's quickest-ever European hat-trick. It was testament to his determination to play in England that Jota swapped Champions League football with Atletico for the Championship. The Portuguese scored 18 goals in his first season with the club, being named their top scorer and establishing himself as a much-loved star. Jota has been inducted into Wolves' hall of fame, with some of the floral tributes to him due to be displayed at the Wolves Museum in a permanent tribute.


Belfast Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
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Belfast Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
All the action as it happens from today's tasty clashes in the Premiership and Championship
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