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Just a few weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to win without optimal displays felt like the hallmark of genuine champions.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. Liverpool continued with average performances and started dropping points. Meanwhile, the North London club, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, started closing the gap at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Does three straight losses constitute a crisis? Like most sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder world class? How do you define "elite" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, perhaps that's one we might settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a mini crisis seems a reasonable assessment. On a recent radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that threshold.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe obvious tactical problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of individuals who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, the majority of the squad are. And every one of them have one significant, recent event: the tragic death of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the devastating passing of their teammate. While the wider world progresses quickly, diverting attention to other events, the club's squad carry on training and playing each day in the absence of their friend.

This is not possible to gauge how each player and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. It requires a great deal of projection. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he was tired. Or maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I lived a very similar experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you see daily that spot empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are doing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

As explained succinctly on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are constant. They hear his song in the first half, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Oh, Jota would have been there.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is not normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a terrible thing happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of effect on various individuals at the organization. It is highly likely that a few of the players personally don't fully understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters dissect displays is clearly far from the primary factor. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to do in a brief soundbite before moving on to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface each critique of a player with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former professional player, Nedum Onuoha, recently talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the high points and the low points that come with it didn't really feel the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish this season—be it success or failure—whether or not we don't mention it every time we discuss their fixtures, even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not just a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.