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Only a few weeks back, the Merseyside club appeared set to secure back-to-back Premier League titles and possibly another Champions League crown. Their capacity to win despite not optimal performances felt like the mark of genuine champions.

However, subsequently the momentum turned. Liverpool persisted with average showings and began dropping points. At the same time, Arsenal, known for their resolute backline and squad depth, started closing the distance at the summit.

Defining a Slump in Today's Game

Does three straight defeats constitute a collapse? As with most football debates, it depends entirely on your definition of the key word. Is Paul Scholes world class? What does "elite" even signify? Are Aston Villa a big team? What constitutes "big"? Are Manchester United returned to prominence? Alright, maybe that's a question we can settle.

At a team of this club's size and last season's excellence, a minor setback appears a reasonable description. On a recent radio show, ex- forward Neil Mellor was questioned how many defeats in a row would cause panic. His answer was six. At present, they are midway to that particular point.

Identifying the On-Pitch Issues

There are obvious tactical problems. Integrating new signings like Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who provide a different style to departed key players Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, creates a difficulty. Likewise, blending in a gifted attacking midfielder like Florian Wirtz has reportedly disrupted the engine room. Observers of the Bundesliga note that Wirtz is a creative talent who improves those beside him, connecting play seamlessly rather than imposing himself on the game.

Additionally, a number of players who excelled last season—including Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konaté, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley—are now below their best. Actually, the majority of the squad is. Yet every one of them share one significant, recent experience: the tragic death of their colleague and companion, Diogo Jota.

The Invisible Effect: Grief on the Pitch

We are now just over three months since the devastating loss of their friend. Although the wider world progresses rapidly, diverting attention to global matters, Liverpool's players carry on training and playing each day without their mate.

This is not possible to gauge how each player and member of the backroom team is coping on any given day. There is a great deal of speculation. Perhaps Salah didn't track back in a recent match because he lacked energy. But perhaps his form is down a small percentage points due to the fact he is grieving for his friend.

The London club's head coach, Enzo Maresca, spoke eloquently before a fixture, drawing a parallel to his own situation 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 Jota's tragedy. I lived 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 daily that spot vacant. So you must be incredibly resilient. And this is the reason why for me they are doing not well, even better than good. Because they are trying to handle a problem that is not easy."

Just as explained well on a popular supporter's show, the reminders are ongoing. The players hear his song in the first half, they notice his unused peg in the changing room. Even during matches, a pass might be played and the realization arises: 'Oh, Diogo would have reached that.' If Salah showed emotion in front of the Kop a few games ago, it signals that all is not all right.

The Limits of Punditry and Personal Grief

After reporting on football for twenty years, one realizes there is a inherent superficiality in most punditry. We simply do not know how an individual is feeling at any specific time and how that affects their performance. Jota's death is one of the clearest illustrations. We know a terrible thing happened, and we understand the nature of sorrow. Beyond that lies an intangible level of effect on different people at the organization. It is very possible that some of the players personally do not truly understand its effect from one day to the next.

How the press covers this and how supporters dissect performances is obviously not the most important factor. On a practical basis, mentioning Jota's death is challenging to accomplish in a short segment before moving on to tactical issues. Beyond this particular tragedy and beyond Liverpool, it would seem strange to qualify every critique of a footballer with an admission that we know so little about their personal lives—be it their family situation, personal struggles, or marital problems.

A former professional player, the defender, recently spoke on radio about how his mother's death midway through his playing days affected his passion for the game. "I lost some joy in football as much," he stated. "Some of the highs and the low points that accompany it no longer felt the same after that." And that was half a career; for Liverpool and Jota, it has been just three months.

The Concluding Thought

Therefore, regardless of what Liverpool accomplish in the coming months—be it success or if it's nothing—even if we omit reference to it every time we analyze their fixtures, even if it is not the sole cause for their final outcome, we must remember that a short time ago they suffered the loss of not merely a exceptional footballer, but, more importantly, they said goodbye to a friend.