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It has been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back assuming the starring role last week with a double in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's position at the 2026 World Cup. The star stepping on the limelight another time. The Reds require him to keep that position.

Factors for Inconsistent Performances

There exist several reasons why inconsistent, lackluster showings have been the recurring theme defining the team's opening to their league defense, if they produced seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's visit to Anfield on Sunday, three losses in a row. The upheaval from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his top team, the late forward's tragic death; the winger has experienced the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key start to the campaign.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's key fixture could provide the impetus for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for almost a decade. Salah will pose the manager with another surprise issue, though, if he remain caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Recent Display

Liverpool's boss likely seen the contrast of the player's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck immediately with the exterior of his stronger foot into the close post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an very similar location to his costly miss against Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that attempt been finished moments after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's first sublime assist in the league. Discussions into his decline and the team's rare losing run might also have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach fumes over a third consecutive away defeat, two caused by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as he emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was instrumental in propelling Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship last season while uncertainty over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. We achieved almost the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decline on an personal and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

His output in terms of goals and setups is reduced 50% on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the initial seven league games of last season to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has dropped from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to 5, contributing to a sharp drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus fourteen at the comparable period of last campaign, his stats remain among the finest in the continent and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Output

Metrics of collective display will trouble Slot additionally. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's tally is 39. The stats are indicative of the team's issues overall. Only United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of shots from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the highest. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Now we lack as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the team that from general play generates the highest xG chances.”

New Signings

They aren't punishing opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed recently, though the team stay the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for Slot to achieve the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (46). Imagine what his attack will do when it clicks. The side remain a squad of outstanding individual quality, capable of starting and chasing any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. That cannot be blamed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a decline, with the midfielder returning to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the disruption that has recently affected the club. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's tragedy can not be measured nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he