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Just a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories without peak displays seemed like the hallmark of true title-winners.

However, then the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average performances and began losing matches. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn backline and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Modern Football

Does three straight defeats constitute a crisis? Like most football debates, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United back? Well, maybe that is a question we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor crisis appears a fair description. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious tactical issues. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of players who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, the majority of the squad is. Yet every one of them have one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic passing of their friend. While the wider world moves on quickly, diverting attention to global matters, the club's squad continue going to work day after day without their mate.

It is impossible to know how every player and staff member is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he was tired. But maybe his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his personal experience of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's loss. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. 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 problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his empty peg in the dressing room. Even during games, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is not normal.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely do not know how an individual is coping at any given time and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We are aware a terrible event happened, and we understand the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on various individuals at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players personally do not fully grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters dissect displays is obviously far from the most important factor. On a functional level, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each criticism of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, personal struggles, or marital problems.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing halfway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "The highs 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 just three months.

The Concluding Thought

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their eventual outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.