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Only a few weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League trophy. The team's ability to secure victories without optimal performances seemed like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. The Anfield side persisted with average performances and started dropping points. At the same time, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive losses constitute a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "elite" actually mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Well, perhaps that's one we might settle.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a mini setback seems a reasonable assessment. On a recent radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

There are obvious footballing problems. Assimilating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the squad are. Yet every one of them share one profound, recent event: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three months since the tragic loss of their friend. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, diverting attention to other events, Liverpool's players continue going to work each day without their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how every player and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his own situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I lived a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

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

Just as explained well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Ah, 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 Boundaries of Punditry and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in most analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an player is feeling at any given time and how that impacts their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of impact on various people at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally do not truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters dissect performances is obviously far from the primary thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to do in a short soundbite before moving on to tactical concerns. Outside of this specific event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every critique of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, health struggles, or relationship problems.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in 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 half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.