🔗 Share this article

Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to win despite not optimal displays felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

However, then the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average showings and began dropping matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their resolute defense and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive defeats represent a crisis? As with most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the key word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, maybe that is a question we can settle.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a fair description. On a recent radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear footballing issues. Assimilating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. Actually, most of the squad are. And every one of them share one significant, fresh experience: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just more than three months since the tragic loss of their friend. Although the outside world moves on quickly, diverting attention to other matters, the club's players continue going to work day after day without their friend.

This is impossible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points because he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, drawing a parallel to his personal situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's loss. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the memory triggers are constant. The players hear his song in the first half, they see his empty locker in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any specific time and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a terrible thing happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. But further lies an intangible layer of impact on various individuals at the club. It is very possible that some of the players personally do not truly understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is obviously not the most important thing. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a brief segment before transitioning to tactical issues. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- professional player, the defender, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the cause for their eventual result, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.