Liverpool's Recent Difficulties: How Diogo Jota's Absence Continues to Affect the Team

Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League trophy. The team's ability to secure victories without peak performances felt like the hallmark of true champions.

But, then the tide shifted. The Anfield side continued with mediocre performances and began losing points. At the same time, the North London club, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Can three consecutive losses represent a collapse? Like most football debates, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the central word. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "world class" even signify? Are Aston Villa a major club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, perhaps that's one we might settle.

At a team of Liverpool's stature and last season's excellence, a minor setback appears a reasonable assessment. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, the majority of the team is. Yet they all have one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. Although the outside world moves on quickly, diverting focus to other events, the club's squad continue going to work each day in the absence of their friend.

This is not possible to gauge how every individual and staff member is dealing on any given day. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. But perhaps his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a parallel to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I lived 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 complex and you see daily that place vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are attempting to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They hear his chant in the first half, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an player is coping at any specific moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a terrible thing happened, and we understand the concept of sorrow. But further lies an intangible layer of effect on various individuals at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad personally do not truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media covers this and how fans analyze displays is obviously far from the most important thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before moving on to tactical concerns. Beyond this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family situation, health struggles, or marital difficulties.

An ex- professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The high points and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Point

So, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their matches, and even if it isn't the reason for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.