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Only a couple of weeks back, Liverpool appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to secure victories despite not peak performances felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre performances and began dropping points. At the same time, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three consecutive defeats represent a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your definition of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "elite" actually mean? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that is one we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's excellence, a mini crisis appears a reasonable assessment. During a radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the Tactical Problems

One can observe obvious footballing problems. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of individuals who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, most of the team are. Yet they all share one profound, fresh experience: the tragic death of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Loss on the Field

It has been just over three short months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global events, Liverpool's squad carry on training and playing each day without their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a small percentage points because he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, making a parallel to his own experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are doing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. 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 manager when you come to the training ground and you see every day that place empty. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused locker in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is far from normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in most analysis. We simply do not know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a terrible event occurred, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of effect on different people at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally don't truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters dissect performances is clearly far from the primary factor. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is difficult to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to on-field issues. Beyond this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, health challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- pro player, the defender, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The high points and the low points that accompany 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 Final Thought

So, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we discuss their fixtures, even if it isn't the cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.