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Only a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly another Champions League trophy. Their capacity to win despite not optimal displays seemed like the hallmark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average showings and began dropping matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute defense and squad depth, started narrowing the distance at the top.

Defining a Crisis in Today's Game

Does a trio of straight losses represent a crisis? As with most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder world class? What does "world class" even signify? Is the Birmingham club a big club? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Well, maybe that's one we might settle.

For a club of this club's stature and previous campaign's brilliance, a minor setback appears a fair assessment. During a radio show, ex- striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular threshold.

Identifying the On-Pitch Problems

One can observe clear footballing problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a challenge. Similarly, incorporating a talented attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who improves those around him, connecting play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Furthermore, a host of individuals who excelled last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, most of the team are. Yet every one of them have one significant, recent event: the passing of their colleague and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the tragic passing of their teammate. While the outside world progresses rapidly, shifting focus to global matters, Liverpool's players carry on going to work day after day in the absence of their friend.

This is impossible to know how each player and staff member is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match because he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small percentage points because he misses his pal.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented insightfully before a recent, making a parallel to his own experience of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this campaign is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the manager when you arrive at the training complex and you find every day that spot vacant. So you must be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

As summarized 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 changing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

After covering football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in the majority of analysis. We simply cannot know how an player is coping at any given time and how that affects their performance. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we understand the concept of grief. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on different people at the club. It is very possible that some of the squad themselves don't truly grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters analyze displays is clearly far from the most important thing. On a practical level, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to do in a brief soundbite before transitioning to tactical concerns. Beyond this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify each critique of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family relationships, personal struggles, or marital problems.

An ex- professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his playing days affected 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 half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Final Point

So, regardless of what Liverpool achieve in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we don't mention it every time we analyze their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their final result, we must remember that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not merely a brilliant player, but, crucially, they lost a friend.