🔗 Share this article

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly a further Champions League trophy. The team's ability to secure victories despite not peak performances felt like the mark of true champions.

However, subsequently the momentum shifted. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and started dropping matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their stubborn backline and squad depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats constitute a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key term. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that's a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a minor setback appears a fair assessment. On a recent broadcast, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Issues

There are clear footballing problems. Integrating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a number of individuals who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, the majority of the squad are. Yet they all share one significant, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just more than three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. While the wider world progresses quickly, diverting focus to other events, the club's squad continue going to work each day without their friend.

This is impossible to gauge how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his form is down a small per cent due to the fact he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you find daily that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the first half, they see his unused peg in the changing room. Even during games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in most analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the concept of sorrow. But further lies an intangible level of impact on various individuals at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the squad themselves do not truly understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the press covers this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly far from the most important factor. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family situation, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "The highs and the low points that accompany it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.