Liverpool's Current Difficulties: The Ways Diogo Jota's Absence Continues to Affect the Team

Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to win despite not optimal displays felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

But, then the momentum shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre performances and started losing matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, began closing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Can a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a crisis? As with many football debates, it depends entirely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, maybe that's one we can answer.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis appears a reasonable assessment. During a radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was asked 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 Problems

There are clear footballing issues. Integrating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a number of players 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 are. And they all have one significant, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Field

We are now just over three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. Although the outside world moves on quickly, diverting attention to global matters, Liverpool's squad continue training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to know how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his form is down a small per cent because he misses his friend.

Chelsea'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. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training ground and you find every day 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 trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They hear his song in the first half, they see his empty peg in the changing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We genuinely do not know how an individual is coping at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an intangible level of impact on various people at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the players themselves do not fully grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly not the primary factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to do in a short soundbite before moving on to tactical issues. Outside of this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, health struggles, or marital problems.

A former pro player, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their fixtures, even if it isn't the reason 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.