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Just a few weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories without optimal displays seemed like the mark of genuine title-winners.

However, then the momentum shifted. The Anfield side continued with average performances and began losing matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, began narrowing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Can a trio of straight defeats constitute a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big team? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that's one we might answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis seems a fair description. On a recent broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are clear tactical problems. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Similarly, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, the majority of the team are. And they all have one significant, fresh event: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to other events, Liverpool's players continue training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to know how each individual and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. But maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, making a comparison to his personal experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you see daily that spot vacant. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his chant in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an player is feeling at any given time and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of effect on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the media covers this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly not the most important thing. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each criticism of a player with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family situation, health struggles, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- pro footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the low points that come with it no longer felt the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.