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With Liverpool having lost three games in a row under Arne Slot— the first time in the Dutchman's career that has ever happened — there were always going to be a variety of theories put forward for what has gone wrong.
Ultimately, there are several explanations: Mohamed Salah has been miles away from his usual standards, Alexander Isak is still working his way up to full fitness, and Alexis Mac Allister and others have been out of form, to name just three.
This week, the loss of Luis Diaz, who has made a good start to life with Bayern Munich, has been put forward by a couple of pundits as another reason. Liverpool, they say, is missing the attributes he brought to the table.
"Diaz is a massive miss for me," ex-Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge said on Sky Sports. "When you look at Liverpool last year and how they used to press, I think arguably he was the one who would set the press in the front three.
"Dominik Szoboszlai would do it in the midfield with that power and dynamism that he has. For me, Diaz, how tenacious he is on the ball and how hungry he is to get it back for his team. He brought something to Liverpool that they are now missing.
"I think Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz work hard; I'm not saying they don't. We can't question their work rate or their quality. But what I will say is that they're attack-minded players.
"I think with Diaz, he would sacrifice himself defensively. That's what they've got to figure out now, who in that attack is going to give themselves up a little bit. In a front three, there always has to be one guy who goes, 'I'm not stats hungry.'
"You see Cody Gakpo this year scoring more goals, Mohamed Salah scoring less, the new strikers want to hit the ground running.
"So I think, Jamie (Redknapp, fellow Sky Sports pundit and former Reds captain) questioned the balance in the midfield, but I also think it's in the front three.
"It's important to understand which one of three is going to be the workhorse, who's going to be the one who does what he wants and who's going to be a hybrid of both. Right now, I'm not sure the manager knows what he's going to do."
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Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is in agreement about Diaz.
"Diaz was such an important player for Liverpool on that left-hand side," he told Poker Strategy. "The way he created chances and scored goals so frequently was such a big reason for Liverpool’s success over the past few years.
"I don’t know the inside story of what happened over the summer and in the months beforehand, but it certainly seems like Diaz has been a huge loss ever since he was sold to Bayern Munich.
"He’s been performing really well in the Bundesliga as well, so he’s still clearly a top player. I think Liverpool misses his ability on the ball when they go forward."
Liverpool.com says: Diaz was a very good player and still has qualities to offer, but Liverpool got a very good deal for a 28-year-old with two years left on his contract who wanted to leave. It was the right call to cash in on him, and in time, those who came in to bolster the Reds' attacking ranks will prove their worth.
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