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Only a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not optimal performances seemed like the mark of true title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average performances and began losing matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Can three straight defeats represent a crisis? Like most football debates, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the key word. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's a question we might answer.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback seems a reasonable assessment. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Issues

There are obvious tactical issues. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Similarly, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team are. And they all have one profound, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Field

It has been just over three short months since the tragic passing of their friend. Although the wider world moves on quickly, diverting focus to other events, the club's players carry on going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

It is impossible to gauge how every player and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small per cent due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a comparison to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the tragedy. I lived exactly the same experience 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 manager when you arrive at the training ground and you see every day that place empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

As summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

Having covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply do not know how an player is feeling at any specific time and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark examples. We know a tragic thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of impact on different people at the club. It is very possible that some of the players themselves don't fully understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters dissect displays is obviously not the most important thing. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field issues. Outside of this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a player with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- professional player, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The highs and the low points that come with it no longer felt the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Concluding Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—whether or not we don't mention it whenever we analyze their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not just a exceptional footballer, but, crucially, they lost a friend.