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Only a few weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories despite not optimal performances felt like the hallmark of true champions.

However, then the momentum turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and started losing matches. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Can a trio of straight losses constitute a crisis? As with most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the key term. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that's one we can answer.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and last season's excellence, a minor crisis appears a fair assessment. During a broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His answer was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear footballing problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a number of players who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the squad is. Yet every one of them share one significant, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the outside world progresses rapidly, shifting attention to global events, the club's squad carry on training and playing each day without their mate.

This is impossible to know how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a few per cent because he is grieving for his friend.

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

"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 complex and you see daily that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a well-known fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. They hear his song in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We genuinely do not know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic event occurred, and we comprehend the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of effect on different individuals at the organization. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally don't fully grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press covers this and how supporters dissect performances is obviously far from the primary factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or relationship problems.

An ex- pro player, the defender, recently spoke on radio about how his mother's death halfway through his career affected his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the high points and the lows that come with it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the cause for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.