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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League trophy. The team's ability to win despite not peak displays seemed like the hallmark of true champions.

However, then the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with average performances and began losing matches. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, began closing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Does three straight defeats constitute a crisis? Like most football debates, it hinges entirely on your definition of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a major club? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, maybe that is one we might answer.

At a team of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor setback appears a fair assessment. On a recent radio show, ex- forward Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

There are clear tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

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

The Unseen Effect: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the devastating passing of their friend. Although the wider world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global matters, the club's squad carry on training and playing day after day without their mate.

It is not possible to know how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he lacked energy. But maybe his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a parallel to his own experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you see daily that place vacant. 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 trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his chant in the first half, they see his unused locker in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in most punditry. We simply do not know how an player is coping at any specific moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of effect on different individuals at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the players themselves do not fully grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters dissect displays is obviously not the primary factor. On a functional level, bringing up Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, health struggles, or marital problems.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, recently talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "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

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it every time we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the reason for their final outcome, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they lost a friend.