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Just a few weeks back, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not peak performances felt like the mark of genuine champions.

However, subsequently the tide turned. The Anfield side persisted with average performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Does three consecutive defeats represent a crisis? As with many football debates, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "elite" actually mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that is one we might answer.

At a team of this club's size and last season's brilliance, a minor crisis seems a fair assessment. During a broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, 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 elevates those around him, linking play seamlessly rather than imposing 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 currently below their best. Actually, the majority of the squad is. Yet they all share one profound, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just over three short months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the wider world progresses quickly, shifting focus to other events, Liverpool's squad carry on going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. There is a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a small per cent because he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, drawing a parallel to his own experience of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," 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 organization, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find every day that place empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they see his unused locker in the dressing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is far from all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We simply do not know how an player is coping at any specific moment and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various individuals at the organization. It is very possible that some of the squad themselves do not fully grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters dissect performances is obviously far from the primary factor. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's passing is difficult to do in a short segment before moving on to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, health struggles, or relationship problems.

An ex- professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the low points 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.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.