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Only a couple of weeks ago, the Merseyside club seemed destined to claim back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League trophy. The team's capacity to secure victories without peak performances seemed like the mark of genuine champions.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. Liverpool persisted with mediocre performances and started dropping matches. At the same time, Arsenal, renowned for their stubborn defense and squad depth, started narrowing the gap at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does three straight defeats constitute a collapse? Like many sporting discussions, it depends completely on your definition of the central word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "world class" actually signify? Is the Birmingham club a major team? What defines "big"? Is the Old Trafford outfit back? Well, maybe that is one we can settle.

For a club of Liverpool's size and last season's brilliance, a minor crisis seems a fair description. On a recent radio show, former striker Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would trigger alarm. His answer was six. At present, they are halfway to that particular point.

Identifying the Tactical Issues

One can observe clear footballing problems. Integrating recent additions like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who offer a distinct style to previous key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, presents a difficulty. Similarly, incorporating a talented playmaker like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Experts of the Bundesliga point out that Wirtz is a technical talent who elevates those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than forcing himself on the game.

Furthermore, a number of players who shone last season—such as Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now underperforming. In fact, most of the squad is. Yet every one of them share one significant, fresh experience: the passing of their teammate and friend, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Impact: Loss on the Pitch

We are now just over three short months since the devastating passing of their teammate. Although the wider world progresses quickly, shifting focus to other events, Liverpool's players carry on going to work day after day in the absence of their friend.

It is not possible to gauge how each player and member of the backroom team is dealing from one day to the next. It requires a significant amount of projection. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match simply he lacked energy. Or perhaps his performance level is down a small per cent because he misses his friend.

Chelsea's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke insightfully before a recent, making a parallel to his own experience of the loss of a teammate, Antonio Puerta, when at Sevilla. "How they are performing this campaign is fantastic," he said of Liverpool. "Particularly after Jota's tragedy. I went through exactly the same thing 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 place empty. So you have to be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are attempting to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained succinctly on a well-known supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. They are reminded by his chant in the first half, they see his unused locker in the dressing room. In the middle of games, a through ball might be played and the realization arises: 'Ah, Diogo would have reached that.' When the Egyptian showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that everything is far from normal.

The Boundaries of Football Analysis and Human Emotion

After reporting on football for twenty years, one comes to believe there is a inherent superficiality in most punditry. We genuinely do not know how an individual is coping at any specific moment and how that impacts their performance. Jota's passing is one of the most stark illustrations. We know a terrible event occurred, and we comprehend the nature of grief. But further lies an immeasurable layer of effect on various people at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players themselves do not fully grasp its effect from one moment to the next.

How the media reports on this and how fans analyze performances is obviously far from the primary thing. On a practical level, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to do in a short soundbite before transitioning to tactical issues. Beyond this particular event and beyond Liverpool, it would seem bizarre to preface every criticism of a player with an acknowledgment that we are largely ignorant about their personal lives—be it their family situation, personal challenges, or relationship difficulties.

A former pro player, Nedum Onuoha, recently spoke on a broadcast about how his mother's passing halfway through his career impacted his love for the game. "I didn't enjoy football as much," he said. "The highs and the low points 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 months.

The Concluding Point

So, whatever Liverpool achieve this season—be it success or failure—even if we don't mention it whenever we discuss their fixtures, and even if it isn't the reason for their eventual outcome, we should not forget that a short time ago they lost not just a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.