🔗 Share this article

Only a few weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories without optimal displays felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum turned. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and began losing points. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their resolute backline and strength in depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Can a trio of consecutive defeats represent a collapse? Like many football debates, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "elite" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a big club? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that's one we might settle.

At a team of Liverpool's size and last season's brilliance, a mini setback seems a fair description. On a recent radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear tactical problems. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team is. And they all share one significant, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just over three months since the devastating loss of their teammate. Although the wider world progresses quickly, shifting attention to other events, the club's squad continue going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to know how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, making a comparison to his own experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

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

As summarized well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his chant in the 20th minute, they see his unused locker in the changing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We genuinely do not know how an individual is feeling at any specific time and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a terrible thing occurred, and we understand the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on different individuals at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not fully grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the press covers this and how supporters dissect displays is clearly not the primary thing. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional footballer, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or failure—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we discuss 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.