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Only a couple of weeks back, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League crown. Their capacity to win despite not peak displays felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide turned. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and started losing points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, began closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight losses constitute a collapse? Like most sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Alright, maybe that is a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a mini crisis seems a fair description. During a radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear tactical problems. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Likewise, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of players who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. Actually, the majority of the squad are. And every one of them have one profound, recent experience: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just over three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. Although the wider world progresses quickly, diverting attention to other matters, Liverpool's squad continue training and playing each day in the absence of their mate.

It is impossible to gauge how each individual and staff member is dealing on any given day. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he was tired. But maybe his performance level is down a small per cent due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, drawing a parallel to his own experience 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 the tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the players, 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 vacant. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is not all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After covering football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in most analysis. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any specific time and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on various people at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the players personally do not truly understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the press covers this and how fans analyze displays is obviously not the primary factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a brief soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. 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, health struggles, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- professional player, the defender, recently talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "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 months.

The Concluding Thought

So, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they lost a friend.