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Only a few weeks ago, Liverpool appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to win without optimal displays seemed like the mark of genuine title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide shifted. The Anfield side persisted with average showings and started losing points. At the same time, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn defense and strength in depth, started narrowing the gap at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive losses constitute a crisis? Like many sporting discussions, it hinges entirely on your definition of the key term. Was the United midfielder world class? How do you define "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a big club? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United back? Well, perhaps that's a question we might settle.

At a team of Liverpool's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback seems a fair assessment. On a recent radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was asked how many losses in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear footballing issues. Integrating recent signings 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 gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly unbalanced the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a creative talent who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently below their best. In fact, most of the squad is. And they all have one profound, fresh event: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Pitch

It has been just over three short months since the tragic loss of their teammate. While the wider world moves on rapidly, diverting attention to other matters, the club's squad carry on training and playing day after day without their mate.

It is not possible to gauge how each player and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a particular match simply he was tired. But perhaps his form is down a small percentage points because he misses his pal.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, making a comparison to his own situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "How they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after Jota's tragedy. I went through a very similar experience when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It is difficult for the players, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find every day that place vacant. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to deal with a situation that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are ongoing. They hear his song in the first half, they notice his empty peg in the dressing room. In the middle of games, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is far from all right.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Personal Grief

After covering football for twenty years, one realizes there is a fundamental superficiality in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an player is feeling at any specific moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a tragic thing happened, and we comprehend the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an immeasurable layer of impact on various people at the club. It is highly likely that a few of the players personally do not fully grasp its influence from one day to the next.

How the media reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly not the primary thing. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a short soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their parental situation, health struggles, or marital difficulties.

A former pro player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days impacted his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "The high points and the low points that come with it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Thought

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or failure—even if we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their fixtures, and even if it is not the sole reason for their final outcome, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they lost not merely a brilliant player, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.