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

But, then the momentum turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and began dropping matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, began narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats represent a crisis? Like most football debates, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central word. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, perhaps that is a question we can answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's brilliance, a mini setback seems a fair description. On a recent broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are clear tactical problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, most of the team is. And they all share one profound, recent event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just more than three months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the outside world moves on rapidly, diverting focus to global events, the club's squad continue training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he was tired. Or maybe his form is down a small percentage points because he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a fixture, making a parallel to his own situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you find daily that spot empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they see his empty peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all 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 inherent superficiality in the majority of punditry. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a terrible event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of effect on various individuals at the organization. It is highly likely that some of the players themselves do not fully understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press covers this and how supporters analyze performances is obviously not the primary factor. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field issues. Beyond this specific event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

A former pro footballer, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's death midway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The high points and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Concluding Point

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they lost a friend.