Slot and Jota’s impact on Liverpool: “It is impossible to measure”

Coach Red echoed the words of Andy Robertson, who remembered his former teammate after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with Scotland.

Arne Slottechnical director of Liverpoolreminded Diogo Jotawho died last July in a car crash, in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest by date 12 of the Premier Leagueand assured that Its impact is “impossible to measure”.

The Dutchman was consulted about the statements made by his manager Andy Robertsonwho said that his former teammate was in his thoughts when he qualified for the 2026 World Cup with Scotland, and was very moved by the left-back’s words: “I saw his interview live. I know it is a delicate issue for us, which is completely normal. But right now I always think about what it must be like for his wife and kids, because it’s much, much harder for them.“.

In that vein, Slot expressed that the loss of Jota is an inevitable factor in his team’s performance this season: “It is totally evident that we miss the player and the person. Now we play against Nottingham Forest, last season We were losing 1-0 and it took him a minute to equalize.. There I am talking about how we miss him as a player. That we also miss him as a person is also clear.”

“It’s always good to remember him at all times, for the type of player and person he was. It is impossible to measure what generates the footballers and the results. The last thing I would do is use it as an excuse because I just don’t know.“added the former PSV coach, who also said that in the context of this loss Liverpool “is always judged, sometimes fairly and sometimes unfairly“.

Robertson’s emotion when remembering Diogo Jota

Robertson, who played 90 minutes for Scotland in their agonizing 4-2 victory over Denmark last Tuesday, had dedicated some warm words to Jota at the end of the match: “I couldn’t get my friend Diogo Jota out of my head today. We talked a lot about the World Cup, he missed the one in Qatar due to injury, I missed it because Scotland didn’t qualify, and We always talk about what it would be like to go to this World Cup. “I know he’ll be somewhere smiling for me tonight.”

The Scot’s words triggered the debate about how much the emotional weight of the Liverpool footballers due to the forward’s death will have influenced the difficult start of the season for the Reds, who They lost 7 of their last 10 games and are currently eighth in the Premier League, 8 points behind the leader Arsenal.

The meeting between the defending champion of the English league and Nottingham Forest will take place this Saturday from 12 (ARG, CHL, URU) and 10 (COL, ECU, PER) and you can see live on the Disney+ Premium Plan.