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Only a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly a further Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories despite not optimal performances felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool persisted with average performances and began dropping matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Can three consecutive defeats represent a collapse? As with most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your definition of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a major club? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Well, maybe that's one we might settle.

At a team of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a fair assessment. During a broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical issues. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents 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 technical player who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team are. Yet every one of them have one significant, recent experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Field

It has been just over three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. Although the outside world moves on rapidly, diverting focus to global matters, the club's players carry on training and playing day after day in the absence of their friend.

It is impossible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he was tired. Or maybe his form is down a small per cent due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the tragedy. I lived 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 coach when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that place vacant. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are constant. They are reminded by his song in the 20th minute, they see his empty peg in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in the majority of analysis. We genuinely do not know how an player is feeling at any given time and how that affects their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We know a terrible event occurred, and we understand the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various individuals at the club. It is highly likely that some of the players personally don't fully understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how fans dissect displays is clearly not the primary thing. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field issues. Beyond this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every critique of a player with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family situation, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional footballer, the defender, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death halfway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the low points that accompany it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or failure—whether or not we don't mention it every time we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a exceptional player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.