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It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward was back taking on the main part recently with a brace in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The key player taking the spotlight once more. The Merseyside club need him to stay there.

Causes for Variable Displays

We see several causes why variable, unconvincing performances have been the common thread characterizing the team's beginning to their title defence, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from so many summer changes, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's passing; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his unusually quiet opening to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the spark for the source of a impressive 16 scores in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for over nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with another unexpected problem, yet, should he continue caught in the disruption for an extended period.

Latest Form

Liverpool's manager must have seen the contrast of the player's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled directly with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's qualifying effort originated from an nearly the same location to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that attempt been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising the new signing's maiden superb pass in the English top flight. Inquests into Salah's decline and Liverpool's rare losing streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while Slot broods over a third away defeat, a couple inflicted by late goals and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Impact

Salah was crucial in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while doubt over his future rumbled in the backdrop. We achieved almost the best out of Mo that campaign,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in April. We have seen a noticeable decline on an individual and collective level from then. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the same point last season, from a total eight in the first seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to five, causing a steep drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the comparable period of the previous season, his stats are among the top in Europe and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Output

Metrics of team performance will trouble the coach more. He had seventy-six touches in the enemy box in the initial seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This season's total is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the squad's problems as a whole. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mostly found the net from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “This season we lack as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the team that from general play creates the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating opponents in the way Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, though Liverpool stay the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it does settle. The side are still a team of exceptional individual quality, able to igniting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is absent. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals only.

Individual and Team Challenges

The player is not the only established player to experience a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the center of the turmoil that has lately affected Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the passing of Jota obvious on that poignant first game against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he