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Only a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. The team's capacity to win despite not optimal performances seemed like the hallmark of true champions.

However, then the tide shifted. Liverpool continued with average showings and started losing matches. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their resolute defense and strength in depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Crisis in Modern Football

Does three consecutive losses constitute a crisis? As with most sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes elite? What does "elite" actually mean? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "major"? Are Manchester United back? Alright, maybe that's one we might settle.

At a team of this club's stature and last season's excellence, a minor crisis appears a fair assessment. During a radio show, former forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger panic. His reply was six. At present, they are halfway to that threshold.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear tactical problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Similarly, blending in a gifted playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who elevates those beside him, linking play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of players who shone last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, the majority of the team are. Yet they all have one significant, fresh event: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Loss on the Field

We are now just more than three short months since the tragic loss of their friend. While the wider world moves on quickly, diverting attention to other events, Liverpool's squad carry on training and playing each day without their friend.

It is impossible to know how every individual and staff member is coping on any given day. It requires a significant amount of speculation. Maybe Salah failed to defend in a recent match because he was tired. But perhaps his form is down a small per cent because he is grieving for his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, commented eloquently before a recent, making a comparison to his own situation of the loss of a fellow player, Antonio Puerta, while at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I went through exactly the same thing when I was a player 20 years ago."

"It's not easy for the squad, it's not easy for the organization, it's not easy for the manager when you come to the training ground and you find every day that spot empty. So you have to be very strong. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are attempting to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a well-known fan podcast, the reminders are constant. The players hear his chant in the 20th minute, they notice his unused peg in the dressing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Jota would have been there.' If Salah was seen crying in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that all is not normal.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

Having reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a fundamental lack of depth in most punditry. We simply cannot know how an individual is coping at any given moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark illustrations. We are aware a tragic event happened, and we understand the concept of grief. But further lies an immeasurable level of effect on various people at the organization. It is very possible that a few of the squad personally do not truly grasp its influence from one moment to the next.

How the press reports on this and how supporters analyze performances is clearly far from the primary thing. On a functional basis, bringing up Jota's death is difficult to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical concerns. Outside of this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each criticism of a footballer with an acknowledgment that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or marital difficulties.

An ex- pro player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's passing midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in 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 only three short months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—if it's something or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it whenever we analyze their matches, even if it isn't the reason for their final result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.