Diogo Jota was special and the stats prove it

It still feels incomprehensible to write about this devastating tragedy.

Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva should have had a long life to look forward to. A life filled with happiness and success on and off the pitch.

All of that has been cruelly taken away, and it has left a community in tatters, reeling from the tragedy. It's also left colleagues, teammates, friends and most importantly his family in shock.

They are feeling pain that is impossible to comprehend. The wounds Jota and his brother leave with their passing will never be fully healed.

Jota was an icon at Liverpool. He'll always be remembered as a champion, and as the club's no.20. Forever.

Not just for his contributions on the pitch, but for his contributions away from the pitch.

Jota was special for the small gestures he did for others and the way he carried himself in the dressing room.

On the pitch, this was a player who was never supposed to make it to Liverpool. He was a boy from Gondomar, who fought against all the odds to make it as a professional.

No one even gave him a chance at that, let alone to become a Portugal international and a Premier League champion.

But this was Jota. He always defied peoples' expectations. He was a hard-worker. Someone who was dedicated to his craft, who always looked to push himself and reach the upper echelons of the game.

Despite injuries at Liverpool, Jota always fought back. He always recovered and came back onto the pitch better than ever.

Last season, he was key in Liverpool's race to the title. He scored the opening Premier League goal of the Arne Slot era against Ipswich.

Then he netted a crucial winner at Crystal Palace and his last ever goal another winner against Everton.

These contributions will be indelible to Liverpool supporters in what was a special season.

But they are just a small morsel of proof to highlight just how special of a player Jota was. The numbers back this up even more.

Jota scored a hat-trick against Atalanta and registered a hat-trick of assists against Rangers in the Champions League for Liverpool.

Both of those were iconic performances, and in the process Jota etched his name into history to be among a very elite class of footballers.

As per Opta's Michael Reid, Jota was only among six other players who had achieved the same feet and scored a hat-trick of goals and assists in the competition.

Those names were as follows:

Samuel Eto'o

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Neymar

Serge Gnabry

Ousmane Dembélé

This proves just how special of a player Jota was. He was truly a joy to watch. The kind of player you always believed in. All of that feels irrelevant yet at the same time highly important.

After all, this is Jota's legacy, and it's a legacy that will never be forgotten. Jota is forever a Liverpool legend. We only wish it didn't have to be this way.

Our thoughts go out to all of his loved ones.