Dembele Dedicates PSG Win Moment to Late Jota in Club World Cup Clash

PSG forward Ousmane Dembele paid a classy tribute to Diogo Jota during his side’s Club World Cup victory over Bayern Munich today, emulating his celebration after scoring the goal that confirmed the European Champions’ place in the semi-finals. Dembele made it 2-0 late on in the game and recreated Jota’s iconic PlayStation action, where he pretended to be playing on a game console. The Liverpool number 20 was known as a keen gamer and produced the celebration after scoring some important goals for the Reds, including in the dramatic 4-3 win over Spurs in April 2023.

Dembele’s gesture drew praise from Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate on social media, who noted the nod to Jota. Several representatives from the Reds were present for today’s funeral when Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, were laid to rest. PSG lost two players to red cards in the second half but still won the game to progress. Center-back Willian Pacho was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on Leon Goretzka before Lucas Hernandez was adjudged to have elbowed Raphael Guerreiro.

Desire Doue opened the scoring when the teams both had 11 players on the field. Pacho and Hernandez were then sent off by Anthony Taylor, leaving PSG with nine men. It was at that point that Dembele scored, with PSG catching Bayern Munich on the counter-attack. The Bundesliga side was pushing forward in hope of finding an equalizer, with Harry Kane having a goal ruled out for offside.

Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo managed to fly in from America to attend Jota’s funeral service. It came just hours after their team, Al-Hilal, were knocked out of the Club World Cup by Fluminense, with both players starting. Chelsea forward Pedro Neto played in its quarter-final match in the same tournament, which kicked off around eight hours before the funeral service began. He later posted an emotional tribute.

“My sweet friend Jota. What a man, what a husband, what a father, what a partner and what a friend,” he wrote. “Your endearing laugh that made us all laugh non-stop. I learned a lot from you and as you often said, ‘There are no fantasies in the world.’ You are great and you will always be and that is how we will remember you forever. We will never forget you, watch over us.”

“You could see it in his first session — that tenacity and the will to win was like no other,” Conor Coady, another former teammate of Jota at Wolves, told the BBC. “He was the heart and soul of the dressing room. He had a quiet way of going about himself. But you knew you could go to him about anything. For me, as a captain, it was an honor and a dream to play with him.”