🔗 Share this article

Just a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League crown. Their capacity to win despite not peak performances seemed like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with mediocre performances and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, began narrowing the distance at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Does a trio of straight losses represent a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a big club? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, maybe that's a question we might settle.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a mini setback seems a reasonable assessment. During a radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are obvious tactical issues. Integrating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, the majority of the team are. And every one of them share one profound, recent experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just over three short months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, shifting focus to global events, Liverpool's players carry on training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to gauge how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a comparison to his own situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that spot empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. They are reminded by his song in the 20th minute, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is far from normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We genuinely do not know how an player is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we understand the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various people at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad personally do not truly understand its influence from one day to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how fans dissect displays is clearly not the most important thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family situation, health struggles, or marital problems.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on radio about how his mother's passing halfway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the lows that come with it no longer felt the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they lost a friend.