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Only a few weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed set to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly a further Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories without optimal performances felt like the hallmark of true title-winners.

However, then the tide shifted. The Anfield side persisted with average showings and started dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute defense and squad depth, started closing the gap at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Today's Game

Can three straight defeats represent a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your interpretation of the key term. Was the United midfielder elite? What does "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "big"? Are Manchester United back? Well, perhaps that is one we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor crisis appears a fair description. During a radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

There are obvious footballing problems. Assimilating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a different style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those around him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. Actually, the majority of the team is. And every one of them have one profound, recent event: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just over three months since the tragic passing of their teammate. Although the outside world moves on rapidly, shifting focus to global events, Liverpool's players continue training and playing day after day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to know how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points because he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a comparison to his own situation of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after the tragedy. I lived a very similar experience 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 ground and you find every day that spot empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to deal with a problem that is not easy."

As summarized well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. In the middle of games, a through ball 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 everything is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We genuinely do not know how an player is coping at any specific time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of sorrow. But further lies an intangible layer of impact on different people at the club. It is highly likely that some of the squad themselves don't fully grasp its effect from one day to the next.

The way the press covers this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly far from the primary thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short segment before moving on to tactical issues. Beyond this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or relationship problems.

An ex- pro footballer, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the high points and the low points 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 Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.