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Just a few weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly a further Champions League crown. The team's capacity to secure victories despite not optimal performances felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

However, then the momentum turned. Liverpool continued with average performances and started dropping points. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their resolute backline and strength in depth, began closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats represent a crisis? As with many football debates, it depends completely on your interpretation of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big team? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, perhaps that is a question we can settle.

At a team of Liverpool's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis appears a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious footballing issues. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a host of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, most of the squad are. Yet they all share one significant, recent event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, shifting attention to global matters, the club's squad continue going to work each day in the absence of their mate.

It is impossible to gauge how every individual and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a particular match because he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a small percentage points because he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's loss. I went through 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 come to the training ground and you see daily that spot vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his song in the 20th minute, they notice his unused locker in the dressing room. Even during games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in the majority of punditry. We genuinely do not know how an player is coping at any specific time and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic event occurred, and we understand the nature of sorrow. But further lies an immeasurable level of impact on various individuals at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally don't truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters dissect performances is clearly far from the primary thing. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to accomplish in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field issues. Outside of this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, personal struggles, or relationship problems.

An ex- pro footballer, the defender, lately talked 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. "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 short months.

The Final Thought

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their matches, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual result, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not merely a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.