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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories despite not optimal performances felt like the hallmark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average performances and started losing matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, began closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Does three consecutive losses represent a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, perhaps that's one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe obvious tactical issues. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of players who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, most of the team are. Yet they all share one significant, fresh experience: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. While the outside world progresses rapidly, diverting attention to other events, Liverpool's players continue training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

It is not possible to gauge how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. There is a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a small percentage points because he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, drawing a comparison to his own experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I lived exactly the same experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy 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 find every day that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused locker in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of effect on different individuals at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad themselves do not truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

How the press covers this and how fans analyze displays is clearly not the most important thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before moving on to tactical issues. Beyond this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental relationships, personal struggles, or marital problems.

An ex- professional player, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The high points 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 only three months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they lost a friend.