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Just a few weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League trophy. Their ability to secure victories without peak displays felt like the mark of genuine title-winners.

But, then the tide turned. Liverpool persisted with mediocre performances and began dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and strength in depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Does a trio of straight losses constitute a collapse? Like most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes elite? How do you define "world class" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that is one we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor crisis appears a fair assessment. During a broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that particular point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

One can observe clear tactical issues. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative player who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of individuals who excelled last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, the majority of the squad are. Yet they all have one profound, fresh event: the tragic death of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just over three months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the outside world moves on quickly, diverting attention to other events, the club's players carry on training and playing day after day in the absence of their friend.

This is not possible to know how each individual and staff member is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he lacked energy. But perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a recent, making a parallel to his personal experience of losing a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I lived exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that spot empty. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the memory triggers are ongoing. The players are reminded by his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his empty peg in the changing room. Even during games, a through ball might be made and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have reached that.' When the Egyptian was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

After covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in most analysis. We genuinely do not know how an player is coping at any specific moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a tragic thing happened, 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 a few of the squad personally do not fully understand its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the press reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is obviously not the most important thing. On a functional level, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a brief segment before moving on to on-field concerns. Outside of this specific tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health struggles, or relationship problems.

A former pro player, the defender, lately talked on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the low points 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 short months.

The Final Point

So, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or if it's nothing—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their fixtures, even if it isn't the reason for their eventual outcome, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not just a brilliant player, but, crucially, they said goodbye to a dear friend.