Liverpool's Recent Difficulties: How Diogo Jota's Loss Impacts the Team

Only a few weeks back, Liverpool appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to win without optimal displays seemed like the mark of true title-winners.

However, then the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average performances and began losing points. Meanwhile, Arsenal, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, began closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Does three consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like many football debates, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key term. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, maybe that is a question we might answer.

At a team of Liverpool's stature and last season's brilliance, a minor setback appears a reasonable description. On a recent broadcast, 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 particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe clear footballing issues. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a number of players who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. In fact, most of the team is. And they all have one significant, recent experience: the passing of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just over three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting focus to other events, Liverpool's players continue training and playing each day in the absence of their mate.

This is not possible to gauge how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. 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 due to the fact he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a comparison to his own experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I went through a very similar 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 coach when you arrive at the training complex and you see every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are constant. They are reminded by his song in the 20th minute, they see his unused locker 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 showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having covering football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a terrible thing happened, and we understand the concept of sorrow. But further lies an intangible level of effect on various individuals at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the players personally don't fully grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is obviously far from the most important factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to do in a brief segment before moving on to tactical issues. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The highs and the lows that accompany it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Final Thought

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it whenever we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole 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 said goodbye to a dear friend.