Liverpool's Recent Struggles: The Ways Diogo Jota's Absence Impacts the Team

Only a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League trophy. Their ability to secure victories despite not peak displays felt like the mark of true champions.

But, then the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with average performances and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn backline and squad depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Can three consecutive losses represent a collapse? Like most football debates, it hinges completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a major club? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, maybe that is one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor setback seems a fair assessment. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular point.

Identifying the Tactical Problems

There are obvious tactical issues. Assimilating recent signings 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 gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, most of the squad are. Yet every one of them have one profound, fresh experience: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. While the wider world progresses quickly, diverting focus to global matters, Liverpool's players continue going to work each day without their mate.

It is not possible to know how each individual and staff member is coping on any given day. It requires a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match because he was tired. But perhaps his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, making a parallel to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I lived exactly the same experience 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 see every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are constant. The players hear his song in the 20th minute, they see his empty peg in the dressing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark examples. We are aware a tragic thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of effect on various individuals at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not fully understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters analyze displays is obviously not the primary factor. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, lately spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The highs and the lows that come with it no longer felt the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Concluding Thought

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.