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Only a few weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories without optimal displays seemed like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average performances and started losing points. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and strength in depth, started closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Can a trio of straight defeats represent a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the key word. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, perhaps that's a question we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor setback seems a fair description. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those beside him, linking play seamlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team is. Yet every one of them have one profound, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Field

We are now just over three months since the devastating passing of their teammate. Although the wider world moves on quickly, diverting focus to other matters, the club's players carry on training and playing each day without their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and staff member is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he was tired. Or maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points because he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a fixture, making a comparison to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you find every day that place vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they see his empty locker in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that everything is far from all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in most analysis. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any given time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an intangible level of effect on different people at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly far from the primary factor. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health struggles, or marital problems.

An ex- professional footballer, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it whenever we discuss their matches, and even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a friend.