🔗 Share this article

Just a few weeks ago, Liverpool seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. Their capacity to secure victories despite not optimal performances seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side continued with mediocre showings and started losing points. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does three consecutive defeats represent a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the key word. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, perhaps that's one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor crisis appears a fair description. During a radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are obvious footballing problems. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, most of the squad is. Yet they all have one significant, recent experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Loss on the Field

It has been just over three months since the tragic passing of their friend. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to other events, the club's players continue going to work day after day without their friend.

It is not possible to know how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he was tired. But maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a fixture, making a comparison to his personal situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training complex and you see every day that spot vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are constant. They hear his chant in the first half, they see his empty peg in the changing room. Even during games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is coping at any specific moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic thing happened, and we understand the concept of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on different individuals at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad themselves do not truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly far from the most important factor. On a functional level, bringing up Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a brief segment before moving on to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each criticism of a player with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, personal challenges, or marital problems.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "The high points and the lows that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, even if it isn't the cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.