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Just a couple of weeks back, the Merseyside club seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially another Champions League crown. The team's ability to secure victories without optimal displays seemed like the hallmark of true champions.

However, subsequently the momentum shifted. Liverpool continued with mediocre performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, the North London club, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive losses represent a collapse? As with many sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your interpretation of the central term. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" even mean? Are Aston Villa a big team? What defines "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that is one we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's size and previous campaign's excellence, a mini setback seems a fair description. On a recent broadcast, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that particular threshold.

Pinpointing the Tactical Problems

There are obvious footballing issues. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, incorporating a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, most of the team are. Yet every one of them share one profound, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just more than three short months since the devastating loss of their teammate. Although the wider world progresses quickly, diverting focus to global events, Liverpool's squad carry on going to work day after day in the absence of their mate.

This is not possible to know how every player and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he was tired. Or perhaps his form is down a few percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, making a comparison to his own experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar 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 coach when you come to the training complex and you find every day that place vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the first half, they see his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that all is not all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

Having covering football for two decades, one realizes there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of punditry. We genuinely cannot know how an player is coping at any given moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the most stark examples. We know a tragic thing happened, and we comprehend the concept of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible layer of effect on various people at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the squad personally don't truly understand its effect from one moment to the next.

The way the media covers this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly far from the primary thing. On a functional basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a brief soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each criticism of a player with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, personal struggles, or relationship difficulties.

A former professional footballer, 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 lows that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Point

So, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish this season—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it is not the sole reason for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not just a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.