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Just a couple of weeks back, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially another Champions League crown. Their capacity to secure victories despite not peak displays seemed like the mark of true champions.

But, then the tide turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and started losing matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn backline and strength in depth, started closing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Modern Football

Does a trio of straight defeats constitute a collapse? Like many football debates, it hinges completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "world class" actually signify? Are Aston Villa a major club? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's one we might answer.

For a club of this club's size and previous campaign's brilliance, a mini crisis seems a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

There are clear footballing problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of players 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 squad is. Yet they all share one profound, fresh experience: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just more than three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the wider world progresses quickly, diverting focus to other events, the club's squad continue training and playing day after day in the absence of their mate.

This is impossible to gauge how each individual and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a small per cent because he is grieving for his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, drawing a comparison to his personal situation of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly 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 club, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training ground and you see daily that spot vacant. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during games, a pass might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have been there.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is not all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

After covering football for two decades, one realizes there is a inherent lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely cannot know how an individual is coping at any specific time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We know a tragic event happened, and we understand the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable level of effect on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not truly understand its effect from one day to the next.

The way the media covers this and how fans analyze performances is clearly far from the primary thing. On a practical level, bringing up Jota's passing is difficult to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface every critique of a player with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, personal struggles, or marital problems.

A former pro footballer, the defender, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The high points and the lows that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three months.

The Concluding Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole reason for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they lost a dear friend.