Emotional Mohamed Salah in tears as Liverpool fans sing Jota tribute at Anfield

India Today

a day ago

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah was moved to tears at the end of their opening game of the season at Anfield. Salah, who scored the final goal in Liverpool's 4-2 victory against Bournemouth, could not hold back his tears as the crowd sang tributes to the club's former player Diogo Jota, who recently died in a car crash.Anfield honoured Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who died after their car spun on a Spanish highway on July 3. The 28-year-old was involved in an accident on the A-52 highway near Palacios de Sanabria, in the Zamora region of northwestern Spain. The duo were driving a Lamborghini which suffered a tyre blowout, causing them to spin off the road.advertisementThe accident occurred just ten days after Jota married his long-time partner, Rute Cardoso, in a ceremony held in Porto on June 22.
On Friday, Anfield brought in banners for Jota which said that the ground will always be his home. As Salah teared up on the field, so did the fans, who were watching the game from the stands."They sang for him (Jota) before the game, in the first minute, after 20 minutes, and again at the end. It was so impressive, so powerful," Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said after the game."His wife is here, his children are here, and for them it might be special to hear how much he's loved over here," he added.Mohamed Salah was the last player to leave the pitch, joining in with a tearful rendition of Diogo Jota's chant in front of the Kop ?? pic.twitter.com/c5Vj4Rfr8C— Premier League (@premierleague) August 15, 2025Liverpool vs Bournemouth: HighlightsLiverpool talisman Mo Salah and substitute Federico Chiesa struck late goals as the Premier League champions began the defence of their title by beating Bournemouth 4-2 in a thriller on the opening night of the season at Anfield on Friday.On a bittersweet evening charged with emotion after the July death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, newcomer Hugo Ekitike bagged a goal on his league debut to put the hosts ahead after 37 minutes and Cody Gakpo doubled the lead in the 49th.But Antoine Semenyo, who was the target of racist abuse in the first half that led to a pause in the game, pulled one back for the visitors in the 64th minute and completed a double 12 minutes later to rock Liverpool and shock the home fans.However, Chiesa came off the bench and sent the Anfield faithful away happy with an 88th-minute strike after goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic swatted away a ball into the box by Salah, who scored himself deep into added time to wrap up the three points."Fantastic," Liverpool boss Arne Slot said of Italian forward Chiesa's goal. "He came in in the end because we needed a goal. For him then to score in such a moment is special.advertisement"It's even more special because the fans have supported him. It's nice he gives them something in return with a great goal."With Liverpool ahead again, Salah chased the ball past the defence before cutting inside and firing into the bottom corner with a 94th-minute goal that put the Egyptian joint-fourth with Andy Cole on the all-time Premier League scorers' list with 187.An emotional Salah pointed to the heavens and flapped two hands to mimic Jota's shark goal celebration.- EndsMust Watch