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Just a few weeks ago, the Merseyside club appeared destined to claim back-to-back Premier League championships and possibly a further Champions League trophy. Their capacity to secure victories without optimal displays seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. Liverpool continued with average showings and started dropping points. At the same time, the North London club, renowned for their stubborn backline and squad depth, began narrowing the gap at the top.

Understanding a Slump in Today's Game

Does a trio of consecutive defeats constitute a collapse? As with most sporting discussions, it hinges completely on your definition of the central term. Is Paul Scholes world class? How do you define "world class" actually mean? Are Aston Villa a major team? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, perhaps that's one we can settle.

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- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many losses in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. Currently, they are halfway to that point.

Pinpointing the On-Pitch Issues

One can observe clear footballing problems. Assimilating new additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a distinct style to departed stalwarts Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who elevates those beside him, linking play effortlessly rather than forcing himself upon the game.

Additionally, a host of players who shone last campaign—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are currently underperforming. In fact, most of the team are. And every one of them share one profound, fresh event: the passing of their teammate and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Unseen Effect: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just more than three months since the devastating loss of their friend. While the wider world moves on rapidly, shifting attention to global events, the club's players carry on training and playing day after day in the absence of their friend.

It is impossible to gauge how every player and staff member 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 because he lacked energy. Or maybe his performance level is down a few per cent due to the fact he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "The way they are performing this season is remarkable," he said of Liverpool. "Especially after the loss. I went through exactly the same experience when I was a player two decades past."

"It is difficult for the squad, it's not easy for the club, it's not easy for the coach when you come to the training ground and you find daily that spot empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the explanation why for me they are performing not good, but exceptionally well. Because they are trying to handle a situation that is not easy."

Just as explained succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his chant in the first half, they see his empty peg in the changing room. In the middle of matches, a pass might be made and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a matches ago, it signals that everything is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Human Emotion

Having covering 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 specific time and how that impacts their performance. Jota's death is one of the most stark examples. We are aware a tragic thing happened, and we understand the nature of grief. But further lies an intangible layer of effect on different people at the club. It is highly likely that some of the players themselves don't fully understand its influence from one day to the next.

How the media covers this and how fans analyze displays is clearly far from the primary thing. On a practical basis, bringing up Jota's passing is challenging to accomplish in a short segment before transitioning to tactical concerns. Beyond this specific event and outside Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to qualify every criticism of a footballer with an admission that we are largely ignorant about their private circumstances—be it their parental situation, personal challenges, or marital problems.

An ex- professional player, Nedum Onuoha, lately talked on radio about how his mother's death midway through his career affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he said. "Some of the highs and the lows that accompany it didn't really feel 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 Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool achieve this season—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 reason for their eventual result, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not merely a brilliant footballer, but, crucially, they lost a dear friend.