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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories despite not optimal displays felt like the mark of true champions.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side continued with mediocre performances and began losing points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Can three straight losses constitute a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the key term. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "world class" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that is one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and last season's excellence, a minor crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe obvious tactical problems. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a number of players who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, the majority of the squad is. And they all have one profound, fresh experience: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just more than three months since the devastating loss of their teammate. Although the outside world progresses quickly, shifting attention to other events, Liverpool's players carry on training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

It is not possible to know how each individual and staff member is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points because he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I lived a very similar 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 manager when you come to the training complex and you find daily that place empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a popular supporter's show, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they see his unused locker in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality 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 most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various people at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media covers this and how supporters dissect displays is clearly far from the primary factor. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, health challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- pro player, the defender, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The high points and the low points that accompany 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.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or failure—even if we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.