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Just a couple of weeks back, Liverpool appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League trophy. The team's ability to secure victories despite not peak displays felt like the mark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. The Anfield side persisted with mediocre performances and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn defense and squad depth, began closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Does a trio of straight losses constitute a crisis? Like many football debates, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Was the United midfielder world class? How do you define "elite" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's one we can answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's excellence, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

One can observe obvious tactical problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of players who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, most of the squad are. Yet every one of them share one profound, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just over three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. Although the outside world progresses quickly, diverting attention to global events, the club's squad continue training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to gauge how every player and staff member is coping from one day to the next. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match because he lacked energy. But maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's loss. I lived exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"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 see daily that place empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players hear his chant in the first half, they see his unused locker in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo 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 Human Emotion

Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in most punditry. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any specific time and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of impact on various individuals at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not fully understand its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how fans dissect performances is obviously far from the most important thing. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, personal struggles, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Final Point

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the reason for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they lost a friend.