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Liverpool's preparations for the 2025/26 Premier League title defense are well underway now after opening pre-season with victory over Preston on Sunday.

An emotional day at Deepdale saw Diogo Jota and Andre Silva commemorated beautifully, with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo paying a fitting tribute to their former teammate on the pitch as Jota's name was sung by supporters throughout.

As Liverpool begins to return to something resembling normality following the most difficult couple of weeks, thoughts will of course be on the new season, with Arne Slot looking to defend the title he claimed in his first year in charge.



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Whether he even reaches that landmark is debatable too, given the speculation surrounding a potential return to Italy this summer.

The 27-year-old was something of a surprise selection to start against Preston, although it was really anyone's guess who would feature in the opening game of pre-season.

Federico Chiesa is challenged by Lewis Gibson during the pre-season friendly match between Preston North End and Liverpool.

That could be put down to the general sluggishness that comes in the first game of the season, although his injury record over the past few years will raise questions over whether that was a sign of him not being the same player that lit up Euro 2020 with Italy.

There were some signs of that player still being there in the opening goal as he danced past a number of Preston defenders before rolling the ball across goal to give Conor Bradley the simplest of tap-ins.

All in all though, Sunday's game will not make or break Chiesa as a Liverpool player, although a decision does need to be made on his future soon.

Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha impressed during Liverpool's pre-season friendly win over Preston North End

(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)