The Reds' Recent Struggles: How Diogo Jota's Loss Continues to Affect the Team

Only a few weeks ago, Liverpool seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories without optimal displays seemed like the mark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with mediocre showings and started losing points. At the same time, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and strength in depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Can three consecutive defeats represent a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key term. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" actually signify? Are Aston Villa a major club? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, maybe that is a question we can answer.

At a team of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's excellence, a mini setback appears a fair description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious footballing problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted 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, linking play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, most of the squad are. Yet every one of them share one significant, recent experience: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. While the wider world moves on quickly, shifting attention to other events, the club's squad carry on going to work day after day without their mate.

It is impossible to gauge how each player 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 particular match simply he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a few percentage points because he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own experience of losing a fellow player, 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 a very similar experience 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 come to the training ground and you find daily that place empty. So you must be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his song in the 20th minute, they see his empty peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an individual is coping at any given moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of impact on different people at the club. It is highly likely that some of the players themselves don't truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press covers this and how fans analyze displays is obviously not the primary factor. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's death is challenging to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the highs 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 just three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we analyze their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole cause for their final outcome, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.