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Only a few weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. The team's ability to win despite not peak displays felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

But, subsequently the momentum turned. The Anfield side continued with mediocre showings and began losing matches. At the same time, the North London club, renowned for their resolute defense and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive losses represent a crisis? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your interpretation of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "major"? Are Manchester United back? Well, perhaps that's a question we can answer.

At a team of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis seems a reasonable assessment. On a recent broadcast, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

There are clear footballing issues. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of individuals who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. In fact, most of the team are. And every one of them share one profound, fresh experience: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Field

We are now just more than three months since the tragic passing of their friend. While the outside world progresses quickly, shifting attention to global matters, Liverpool's players carry on training and playing day after day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to know how every 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. But perhaps his form is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, drawing a comparison to his own experience of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you see every day that place vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. They are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his empty peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any specific moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of impact on different people at the club. It is very possible that some of the squad themselves do not truly understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is obviously far from the most important factor. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's death is difficult to do in a short soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal struggles, or marital difficulties.

A former professional footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on a broadcast about how his mother's death midway through his playing days affected his love for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the lows that come with it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.