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Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not optimal performances felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide turned. The Anfield side continued with mediocre showings and began losing matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Does a trio of consecutive losses constitute a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" actually signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Alright, maybe that's a question we can settle.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis appears a fair description. On a recent radio show, ex- forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Assimilating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who excelled 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. And every one of them share one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Field

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. Although the wider world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global matters, Liverpool's squad continue training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. But perhaps his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a parallel to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult 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 every day that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players hear his song in the first half, they notice his empty locker in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is feeling at any specific moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible thing occurred, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of impact on different people at the organization. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally don't fully understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the media covers this and how fans dissect displays is clearly not the primary factor. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to on-field issues. Beyond this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, personal struggles, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- pro player, the defender, lately spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The high points and the lows that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their fixtures, and even if it isn't the cause for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not just a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.