The Reds' Current Difficulties: How Diogo Jota's Loss Continues to Affect the Squad

Just a couple of weeks back, Liverpool seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League crown. The team's ability to win despite not optimal performances seemed like the mark of true title-winners.

However, then the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three consecutive losses represent a collapse? As with most football debates, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the key word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What constitutes "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, perhaps that is one we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's brilliance, a minor setback seems a fair description. During a broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are clear tactical problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of players who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. Actually, the majority of the team are. And they all share one profound, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Field

We are now just over three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, diverting attention to global events, the club's players continue going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to know how every individual and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he lacked energy. But perhaps his form is down a few per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a parallel to his personal experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I lived a very similar experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you see daily that spot empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. They hear his chant in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of punditry. We simply do not know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a terrible event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of impact on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that some of the squad personally do not truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is obviously not the most important thing. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a brief soundbite before moving on to tactical issues. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- pro footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the highs 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 only three short months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—even if we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their matches, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual outcome, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.