Liverpool's Current Struggles: The Ways Diogo Jota's Loss Continues to Affect the Team

Only a few weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories despite not peak performances felt like the mark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average performances and began losing points. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their resolute defense and strength in depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Can three consecutive defeats constitute a collapse? Like many football debates, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the central word. Was the United midfielder world class? How do you define "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that's a question we might answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's excellence, a mini setback appears a reasonable assessment. On a recent broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe clear tactical problems. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing 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 currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the squad are. And they all have one significant, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to global events, Liverpool's squad continue going to work day after day without their mate.

It is impossible to gauge how each individual and staff member is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, drawing a parallel to his personal experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training complex and you find every day that place vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. The players hear his song in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. Even during games, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota 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 Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a tragic event happened, and we comprehend the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on various people at the organization. It is highly likely that a few of the players themselves don't fully grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the press reports on this and how fans analyze performances is obviously not the primary thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before moving on to tactical concerns. Beyond this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each critique of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately 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 stated. "The high points and the lows that come with 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 short months.

The Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.