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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League trophy. Their capacity to win without optimal performances felt like the hallmark of true champions.

But, then the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre showings and started dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Does three straight defeats represent a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your definition of the central term. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big club? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback appears a reasonable assessment. During a broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear tactical problems. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who shone last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. Actually, the majority of the team are. Yet every one of them share one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Pitch

We are now 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 squad continue training and playing day after day without their friend.

This is not possible to know how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he was tired. Or maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his personal situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the tragedy. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training complex and you find every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

As summarized succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they see his empty peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that everything is far from normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given time and how that impacts their play. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of impact on various people at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad themselves don't truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how fans analyze performances is clearly far from the most important thing. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is difficult to do in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal challenges, or relationship problems.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's passing halfway 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 didn't really feel the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a exceptional player, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.