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Only a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win without optimal displays seemed like the mark of genuine title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average showings and started losing matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute defense and squad depth, started closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Does three consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the key term. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that's a question we might answer.

At a team of this club's size and last season's excellence, a mini crisis seems a fair assessment. During a radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular point.

Identifying the Tactical Problems

There are clear footballing problems. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, linking play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of players who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. In fact, most of the squad are. And they all share one significant, fresh experience: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Field

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. Although the outside world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global events, Liverpool's players continue going to work each day without their mate.

It is not possible to gauge how every individual and staff member is dealing 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 per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, making a comparison to his personal situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's loss. I went through exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training complex and you find every day that place empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his song in the first half, they see his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is not normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having covering football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is coping at any given time and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. But further lies an intangible level of effect on various individuals at the organization. It is very possible that some of the squad themselves don't fully understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters dissect displays is clearly far from the most important factor. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to tactical issues. Outside of this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every critique of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his career affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the high points and the low points that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.