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Just a couple of weeks back, Liverpool appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. Their capacity to secure victories without peak displays felt like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the momentum shifted. The Anfield side continued with average performances and began dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and squad depth, began closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Can three consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a major club? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Well, maybe that is a question we might answer.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's excellence, a mini crisis appears a fair assessment. On a recent radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are obvious footballing issues. Integrating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the squad is. And they all share one profound, recent event: the passing of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just over three months since the tragic passing of their friend. Although the outside world moves on quickly, shifting attention to other matters, the club's squad continue going to work day after day without their friend.

This is impossible to know how each player and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. There is a great deal of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he lacked energy. But perhaps his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a parallel to his personal experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training complex and you see daily that place empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as explained succinctly on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the first half, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. Even during games, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is not all right.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any specific moment and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We know a terrible event happened, and we understand the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of impact on different people at the club. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how fans analyze displays is obviously far from the most important thing. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, health challenges, or relationship difficulties.

An ex- pro player, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the lows that come with it no longer felt 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 Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—even if we don't mention it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the reason for their final outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a exceptional player, but, crucially, they lost a friend.