Coach Arne Slot: "I unconsciously searched for Diogo Jota to put on the field"

(Dan Tri) - Coach Anre Slot moved fans when he mentioned the absence of the late striker Diogo Jota in Liverpool's opening victory of the new season.

Liverpool started the 2025-26 Premier League season impressively with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth in the early morning of August 16, but the joy of the opening match seemed to be incomplete.

After the match, coach Arne Slot shared emotional words about the absence of Diogo Jota, who recently passed away after a traffic accident.

Coach Slot was emotional as fans at Anfield paid tribute to Diogo Jota (Photo: Getty).

“Normally, at the moment of the 2-2 draw, I think you all know which player I would look at. I unconsciously thought of Diogo Jota, but I couldn’t for a painful reason. However, the remaining players and the fans did what he had brought many times in the past,” coach Slot choked up as he shared.

In the match at Anfield, Liverpool led Bournemouth 2-0, but then let their opponents equalize 2-2, causing the match to fall into a tense stalemate in the final minutes.

It was not until the final minutes that coach Slot's team showed the mettle of a great team. The two stars on the attack line, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah, shone at the right time, scoring goals to seal a thrilling 4-2 victory for The Reds.

Despite winning 3 points, this performance still shows many problems that Liverpool need to solve to successfully defend the Premier League title this season.

After the match ended, coach Slot himself admitted his concern that Liverpool would find it difficult to maintain the result under intense pressure from Bournemouth: “When we faced Bournemouth here last season, we led 3-0 but they still did not give up. They have a very high running index. Today, once again we can see their perseverance.

They never stopped, their speed and tempo was incredible, they sprinted all the way to the end. However, they were up against a Liverpool side that was also in great form. We lost a lot of players in the summer, but we never lost our fighting spirit.”

Coach Slot celebrates Liverpool's opening win of the new season (Photo: Getty).

After a dramatic victory in the opening round, Liverpool will continue their journey to defend their Premier League title with an away match against Newcastle, the match takes place at 2am on August 26 at St. James' Park.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-arne-slot-toi-da-vo-thuc-luot-tim-diogo-jota-de-tung-vao-san-20250816105357925.htm