🔗 Share this article

Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to secure victories without optimal displays felt like the mark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum shifted. Liverpool persisted with mediocre performances and began dropping matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, began narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Can a trio of straight defeats represent a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the key word. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, perhaps that is a question we can answer.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a mini crisis seems a fair description. During a radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Problems

There are obvious tactical issues. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Likewise, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. 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.

Additionally, a host of individuals who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, the majority of the team are. Yet every one of them share one significant, fresh event: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the wider world moves on quickly, shifting attention to global events, the club's squad continue going to work day after day in the absence of their mate.

It is impossible to know how every player and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his personal experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing 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 coach when you come to the training complex and you find every day that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a well-known fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they notice his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply do not know how an player is feeling at any specific moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of effect on different people at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not truly grasp its influence from one day to the next.

The way the press covers this and how fans dissect performances is clearly far from the most important factor. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- professional footballer, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the high points and the low points that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Thought

So, whatever Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or failure—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a exceptional footballer, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.