Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar gave a heart-warming tribute to Diogo Jota on Saturday evening after his dramatic winner of 101st minutes against Philadelphia Union.
With his team up to 10 men, Mukhtar stepped up in the 11th minute of the interruption time and hit the ball past Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake to grab a last 1-0 win for their own supporters.
And after he was called away from delight, the German player quickly dedicated that late strike to Jota after his tragic death this week.
The Liverpool star, who helped the club to win the Premier League title last season, and his younger brother Andre Silva was killed early on Thursday morning at a car accident when the band blew out on his Lamborghini and sent the Supercar from the Portuguese border in northwestern Spain.
The football world was destroyed by its loss, with a tribute that enters the past four days.
Mukhtar made sure that he paid his respect to Jota after his heroic moment against Philadelphia, where the 30-year-old did this by sitting on the grass and imitating his famous gaming celebration.
A number of his teammates also joined him when recruiting the celebration, who withdrew Jota memorably after a 94th minute winner against Tottenham in 2023.
Various tribute were made this week for the Portuguese attacker in Club World Cup matches, with a number of stars that play the emotional pain of losing their teammate and friend.
Colleague Portugal International Pedro Neto showed a tribute to Diogo and Andre before the 2-1 victory of Chelsea over Palmeiras, while other international colleagues Joao Annulso and Ruben Neves Wellden with tears for the 2-1 defeat of Al-Hilal by Fluminse.
Jota traveled in his Lamborghini with younger brother Andre, also a professional football player, when one of the tires would have been blown out and sent off the road.
After rolling, the Lamborghini then bursts in flames around 12.35. The emergency services were called, but the brothers could not be saved. The police say they do not yet know who was driving.
Jota was just married to Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16, fourteen days before his tragic death.
The Premier League winner had described herself as the happiest man in the world to be her husband, in which he was shared moving images of their wedding day in his last Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
Liverpool FC said in a statement that the club was 'destroyed' by the tragedy and that the family of Diogo, friends and fans had suffered an 'unimaginable loss'. Flowers and tribute were placed outside their Anfield stage on Thursday, with many fans in tears, while a large number of teammates, coaches and friends attended his funeral on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Jota's friend and teammate and the biggest player in Portugal, said on Thursday: 'It makes no sense. Just now we were together for the national team, you were just married.
'To your family, to your wife and children, I send my participation and I wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. TEAR. Diogo and Andre. We will all miss you '.
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