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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League trophy. Their capacity to win without optimal displays seemed like the mark of true title-winners.

However, then the tide turned. Liverpool continued with mediocre performances and started losing matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Can a trio of consecutive defeats represent a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Alright, maybe that's a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. Currently, they are midway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

One can observe obvious footballing problems. Assimilating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a challenge. Similarly, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, linking play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, the majority of the squad is. Yet they all have one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. Although the outside world progresses quickly, shifting attention to global events, the club's players continue training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to know how every player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. It requires a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he was tired. Or maybe his form is down a few percentage points because he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, making a parallel to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the loss. I lived exactly the same thing when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you see daily that spot vacant. 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 handle a situation that is not easy."

As explained well on a popular fan podcast, the memory triggers are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his empty locker in the dressing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have reached that.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not normal.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We genuinely do not know how an individual is feeling at any given time and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a terrible event happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of impact on various people at the organization. It is very possible that some 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 clearly not the primary factor. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical concerns. Beyond this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, personal struggles, or relationship problems.

A former professional player, the defender, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The high points and the lows that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Concluding Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, and even if it isn't the reason for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a exceptional footballer, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.