Just a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories despite not optimal performances seemed like the hallmark of genuine champions.
However, then the momentum turned. The Anfield side continued with average showings and began losing matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the summit.
Can a trio of consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the key word. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, maybe that's a question we can settle.
For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's excellence, a mini setback seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular threshold.
There are clear footballing problems. Integrating new additions 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. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those around him, linking play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.
Additionally, a number of players who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the squad are. Yet they all have one profound, fresh experience: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.
We are now just over three months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, shifting attention to other events, the club's squad continue going to work each day in the absence of their friend.
This is impossible to know how every player and staff member is coping from one day to the next. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his form is down a small per cent due to the fact he misses his pal.
The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."
"It's not easy 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 vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."
Just as summarized well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They are reminded by his chant in the first half, they see his unused locker in the dressing room. Even during games, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is not normal.
Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an individual is coping at any given time and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. But further lies an intangible layer of impact on various individuals at the club. It is very possible that a few of the squad themselves do not truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.
The way the press covers this and how fans analyze performances is clearly far from the most important thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this specific tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or marital difficulties.
A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The highs and the lows that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.
Therefore, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their fixtures, and even if it isn't the reason for their eventual result, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.
