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Just a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories despite not peak performances seemed like the mark of genuine title-winners.

But, then the momentum shifted. The Anfield side persisted with average performances and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn backline and squad depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Today's Game

Does three consecutive losses represent a collapse? Like most football debates, it depends completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that is a question we can settle.

At a team of Liverpool's size and last season's excellence, a minor setback seems a reasonable assessment. During a broadcast, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those beside him, linking play effortlessly 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 team is. And every one of them have one profound, recent experience: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting focus to global events, the club's players carry on going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to know how every individual and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. It requires a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a few percentage points because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, making a parallel to his personal situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find daily that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are constant. They hear his song in the first half, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. Even during games, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that everything is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We genuinely do not know how an player is feeling at any specific moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's passing is one of the most stark examples. We know a terrible thing occurred, and we understand the concept of sorrow. But further lies an intangible level of effect on different individuals at the club. It is highly likely that some of the squad themselves don't fully grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the press covers this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly not the most important factor. On a functional level, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to do in a short segment before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre 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 difficulties.

An ex- pro player, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his career affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the lows that accompany it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, and even if it isn't the reason for their eventual result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.