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Only a couple of weeks back, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. Their ability to secure victories without peak displays seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre showings and started losing matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Can three consecutive defeats represent a collapse? As with most football debates, it depends completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Well, maybe that's a question we can answer.

At a team of Liverpool's size and last season's excellence, a minor crisis seems a fair description. On a recent broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe obvious tactical issues. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing 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 currently below their best. Actually, the majority of the team is. Yet they all have one profound, recent experience: the passing of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Field

It has been just more than three months since the tragic loss of their teammate. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to global events, Liverpool's players carry on going to work day after day in the absence of their mate.

It is not possible to gauge how each individual and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he was tired. But maybe his performance level is down a small percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal experience of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I lived exactly the same experience 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 come to the training complex and you see daily that place vacant. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They hear his chant in the 20th minute, they see his unused locker in the dressing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is not normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any specific moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We know a terrible thing happened, 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 a few of the players personally don't fully understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how fans analyze performances is clearly not the primary thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is difficult to accomplish in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this specific tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former 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 lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "The high points and the lows 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 Concluding Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.