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Just a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not optimal displays felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

However, then the momentum shifted. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and began losing points. Meanwhile, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can a trio of straight defeats represent a collapse? Like many football debates, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, maybe that is a question we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's excellence, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. During a broadcast, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are clear footballing issues. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the squad is. Yet every one of them share one profound, fresh experience: the tragic death of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Field

It has been just over three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the outside world progresses quickly, diverting attention to other events, Liverpool's squad continue going to work day after day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

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

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find every day that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have reached that.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is far from all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any given moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. But further lies an immeasurable layer of effect on various people at the club. It is very possible that some of the players personally don't fully understand its effect from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how fans dissect performances is clearly far from the most important thing. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this specific event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former pro footballer, the defender, recently talked on radio about how his mother's passing halfway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The highs and the low points that accompany it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Concluding Point

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we discuss their fixtures, and even if it isn't the reason for their final result, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.