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Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared set to claim 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 hallmark of genuine champions.

But, then the tide turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Can a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a crisis? Like many sporting discussions, it depends entirely 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 constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that's one we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, 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 panic. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical issues. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, most of the squad is. And they all have one significant, fresh event: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. While the outside world moves on quickly, shifting focus to other matters, the club's squad continue going to work each day without their friend.

This is not possible to know how every player and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match because he was tired. But maybe his performance level is down a small percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, making a comparison to his own experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training ground and you find every day that spot empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to deal with a situation that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players hear his song in the 20th minute, they see his empty locker in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is feeling at any specific moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. But further lies an intangible level of effect on various people at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players personally do not truly grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly not the primary thing. On a practical level, bringing up Jota's death is challenging to do in a short segment before moving on to tactical concerns. Outside of this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, health challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- pro footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it is not the sole cause for their final result, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they lost a friend.