🔗 Share this article

Only a few weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League trophy. Their ability to secure victories despite not optimal displays felt like the hallmark of true champions.

But, then the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with average performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their resolute defense and strength in depth, began narrowing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats constitute a crisis? Like many football debates, it depends completely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "world class" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big team? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that is one we might answer.

At a team of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor setback seems a reasonable description. During a broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are obvious tactical issues. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, incorporating a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, most of the team is. And every one of them share one profound, fresh experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, shifting attention to other matters, Liverpool's players carry on training and playing day after day without their friend.

This is not possible to know how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a few per cent because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, drawing a parallel to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you find daily that place vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are constant. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they see his unused peg in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply do not know how an individual is coping at any specific time and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We are aware a terrible event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that a few of the squad personally don't truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is obviously not the most important factor. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before moving on to tactical concerns. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every critique of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former pro footballer, the defender, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his playing days affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual result, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.