🔗 Share this article

Just a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League trophy. Their ability to secure victories without optimal performances felt like the hallmark of true title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side persisted with average performances and started dropping points. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their resolute defense and strength in depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Modern Football

Does three straight losses constitute a collapse? As with most football debates, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "world class" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a big club? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that's one we might answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. During a broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Problems

One can observe clear tactical issues. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. Actually, most of the team is. And every one of them share one profound, fresh event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the outside world moves on quickly, shifting attention to other events, Liverpool's squad carry on going to work day after day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he was tired. But perhaps his form is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his personal experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you see every day that spot empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As summarized well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they see his unused peg in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given time and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a tragic thing occurred, and we understand the concept of sorrow. But further lies an immeasurable level of impact on various people at the club. It is very possible that some of the players personally don't truly grasp its effect from one day to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is obviously not the most important factor. On a functional level, bringing up Jota's passing is difficult to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field issues. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal struggles, or marital problems.

A former pro player, the defender, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "The highs and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Final Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.