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Only a few weeks back, Liverpool appeared destined to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and potentially a further Champions League crown. Their ability to win without optimal performances seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

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

Defining a Slump in Modern Football

Does a trio of consecutive defeats represent a collapse? As with most sporting discussions, it depends entirely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" even mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What constitutes "major"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that's one we can answer.

For a club of this club's stature and last season's brilliance, a minor crisis seems a fair description. During a radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. Currently, they are midway to that point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

There are clear tactical problems. Integrating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Likewise, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those around him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a number of individuals who excelled last campaign—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, the majority of the squad are. Yet they all have one profound, recent experience: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Grief on the Field

It has been just over three months since the devastating loss of their teammate. While the wider world progresses rapidly, shifting focus to global events, Liverpool's squad continue going to work day after day without their mate.

It is not possible to gauge how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing on any given day. There is a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah failed to defend in a recent match because he lacked energy. But maybe his form is down a few percentage points because he is grieving for his friend.

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

"It's not easy 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 see every day that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the reason why for me they are performing not good, even better than good. Because they are attempting to deal with a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his song in the first half, they see his empty locker 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 was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not all right.

The Boundaries of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent lack of depth in most punditry. We simply do not know how an player is feeling at any given moment and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the clearest examples. We are aware a terrible thing happened, and we comprehend the nature of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible level of impact on various people at the club. It is highly likely that some of the players themselves don't fully grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

The way the media reports on this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly not the most important thing. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to do in a short segment before moving on to on-field concerns. Beyond this specific tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify each critique of a player with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental relationships, health challenges, or marital difficulties.

A former professional footballer, the defender, recently 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. "Some of the highs and the low points that accompany it no longer felt the same any more." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been only three short months.

The Final Point

So, whatever Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a brilliant player, but, crucially, they lost a friend.