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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 crown. The team's ability to win despite not peak performances felt like the mark of true title-winners.

However, subsequently the tide turned. Liverpool continued with average showings and started losing matches. Meanwhile, the North London club, renowned for their resolute backline and strength in depth, started narrowing the distance at the summit.

Understanding a Crisis in Modern Football

Can a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a crisis? As with many sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your definition of the key word. Was the United midfielder elite? How do you define "elite" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a big club? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Alright, maybe that is one we might settle.

For a club of this club's stature and previous campaign's excellence, a minor setback appears a fair assessment. During a radio show, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause alarm. His reply was six. At present, they are midway to that point.

Pinpointing the Tactical Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Assimilating recent signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different skill set to previous stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the midfield. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical player who improves those beside him, connecting play effortlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a host of players who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, the majority of the team is. Yet they all have one significant, recent experience: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Pitch

It has been just over three months since the tragic loss of their friend. While the wider world progresses quickly, diverting focus to other matters, Liverpool's squad continue going to work day after day without their friend.

It is not possible to gauge how each individual and member of the backroom team is coping from one day to the next. There is a significant amount of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a particular match simply he was tired. But perhaps his performance level is down a few percentage points due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a comparison to his personal situation of losing a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are doing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's loss. I went through exactly the same experience 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 spot vacant. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not well, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as summarized well on a well-known supporter's show, the memory triggers are ongoing. They hear his chant in the first half, they notice his empty locker in the changing room. In the middle of games, a pass might be played and the thought arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have been there.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it indicates that everything is far from all right.

The Limits of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After covering football for two decades, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in the majority of analysis. We simply do not know how an individual is coping at any given moment and how that affects their play. Jota's passing is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a tragic thing occurred, and we comprehend the concept of grief. But further lies an intangible layer of impact on various people at the organization. It is highly likely that some of the squad themselves do not fully understand its influence from one moment to the next.

How the media covers this and how supporters dissect displays is obviously not the primary factor. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a brief soundbite before transitioning to on-field concerns. Beyond this particular tragedy and outside Liverpool, it would seem strange to preface each criticism of a player with an admission that we know so little about their private circumstances—be it their family relationships, health struggles, or relationship problems.

An ex- professional player, the defender, lately spoke on radio about how his mother's passing halfway through his playing days affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the high points and the lows that come with it didn't really feel the same after that." And that was many years into his profession; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three short months.

The Final Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or failure—whether or not we omit reference to it every time we discuss their matches, and even if it isn't the cause for their eventual result, we should not forget that a few weeks ago they suffered the loss of not just a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a dear friend.