(Video) James Milner pays tribute to Diogo Jota after levelling for Brighton against Man City | OneFootball

James Milner paid a touching tribute to his ex-Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota after scoring for Brighton this afternoon.

In his 24th consecutive season as a Premier League player, the evergreen 39-year-old lined out for the Seagulls today against his former club Manchester City, and it seemed inevitable that the midfielder would make a telling contribution.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side were trailing 1-0 when they were awarded a penalty midway through the second half, and the responsibility was entrusted to a player who’s seven years older than his manager.

Milner emphatically dispatched the spot kick into the bottom corner of James Trafford’s net, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way before being mobbed by his teammates.

The veteran midfielder then paid tribute to Jota by performing the late Portuguese forward’s video game celebration, an act which had also been seen from the likes of Goncalo Ramos and Raul Jimenez in the days and weeks after the 28-year-old’s tragic death on 3 July.

Image via Sky Sports Premier League

Milner had already paid tribute to Diogo with shirt number change

Milner spent three seasons playing alongside Diogo at Liverpool before he left for Brighton two years ago, and it’s not the first notable tribute he’s paid to his former teammate.

The former Reds midfielder has taken the Seagulls’ number 20 shirt for this campaign in paying respect to Jota, with Carlos Baleba obligingly switching to no.17 at the Amex Stadium.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, the 39-year-old revealed that he’d actually messaged his ex-teammate on the night before the latter died in a car crash in northern Spain which also claimed the life of his brother Andre Silva.

It wasn’t until today that Milner scored his first goal for Brighton, and the 2020 Premier League winner showed typical class in marking the successful spot kick by commemorating his friend and former teammate, who continues to be missed dearly by everyone with the good fortune to have known him personally.

Diogo will forever be in the hearts of everybody associated with Liverpool FC.

You can view Milner paying tribute to Jota below, via @SkySportsPL on X: