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Just a few weeks back, Liverpool seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories without optimal performances seemed like the hallmark of genuine title-winners.

But, subsequently the tide turned. Liverpool persisted with mediocre showings and started losing matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal, known for their stubborn defense and strength in depth, began narrowing the gap at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Can a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a collapse? As with most football debates, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key term. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a major club? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's a question we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback appears a reasonable assessment. On a recent broadcast, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are midway to that point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct skill set to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. Actually, most of the team is. And every one of them share one profound, recent experience: the tragic death of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting focus to other matters, the club's players carry on going to work each day without their friend.

This is not possible to gauge how every player and member of the backroom team 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. Or maybe his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, drawing a parallel to his personal experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

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

As summarized well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players are reminded by his chant in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it indicates that all is not normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for two decades, one realizes there is a fundamental superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any given time and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an intangible level of impact on different individuals at the club. It is very possible that a few of the players personally do not truly grasp its effect from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters dissect performances is clearly not the most important factor. On a practical level, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to do in a brief segment before transitioning to on-field concerns. Outside of this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each critique of a player with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, personal challenges, or marital problems.

A former professional footballer, the defender, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing midway through his career impacted his passion for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he stated. "The highs and the low points 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 just three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it every time we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the reason for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.