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Just a few weeks back, Liverpool appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win without peak performances felt like the mark of genuine champions.

However, then the tide turned. Liverpool persisted with average performances and started dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three consecutive defeats represent a crisis? As with most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, perhaps that is a question we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's brilliance, a minor setback seems a fair description. During a radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a number of players who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. In fact, the majority of the team is. Yet they all have one profound, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just more than three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. Although the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to global matters, Liverpool's players carry on going to work each day without their friend.

It is impossible to gauge how every individual and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his form is down a small percentage points because he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are doing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing 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 come to the training ground and you see every day that spot vacant. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. The players are reminded by his song in the first half, they notice his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of games, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is not normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of punditry. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any specific moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We know a terrible event occurred, and we understand the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on different individuals at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not fully understand its effect from one day to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how fans dissect displays is obviously not the most important thing. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a short segment before moving on to tactical concerns. Outside of this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every critique of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family situation, personal struggles, or relationship problems.

An ex- professional player, the defender, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it every time we discuss their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole cause for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.