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Only a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League crown. Their capacity to win despite not peak performances seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

But, then the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre performances and began losing matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Can three consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the key term. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" actually signify? Are Aston Villa a big club? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that is one we can settle.

For a club of this club's size and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear footballing problems. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, linking play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of players who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, the majority of the team is. Yet every one of them share one significant, recent event: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just over three months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world moves on quickly, shifting focus to global events, the club's players carry on training and playing day after day without their friend.

It is impossible to gauge how each player and staff member is coping on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he was tired. Or maybe his form is down a small percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a fixture, making a comparison to his personal situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find daily that spot 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."

As explained succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they see his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is far from all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is coping at any specific time and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic thing occurred, and we understand the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on various people at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not truly understand its influence from one day to the next.

The way the press covers this and how supporters dissect performances is obviously not the most important thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short segment before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or relationship problems.

An ex- pro footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The highs and the low points that accompany 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 Final Point

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, even if it is not the sole reason for their final outcome, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not just a brilliant player, but, crucially, they lost a friend.