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It has been a while, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The star stepping on the spotlight another time. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Causes for Inconsistent Showings

There exist several causes why unsteady, unimpressive showings have been the recurring theme characterizing Liverpool's beginning to their league defense, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from so many new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has endured the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key opening to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for over nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, though, should he stay lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Performance

The team's boss must have seen the contrast of Salah's opening strike against Djibouti in midweek. Drilled first time with the exterior of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's qualification run was from an very similar spot to his big mistake against Chelsea before the international break.

Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's first sublime assist in the Premier League. Inquests into his decline and the team's unusual losing streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search persists while Slot stews over a third away defeat, two caused by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his career rumbled in the background. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decrease

His contribution in terms of scores and assists is down half on the corresponding stage last season, from a total 8 in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) the current campaign. His number of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while shots on target have declined from fifteen to 5, contributing to a sharp fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the same stage of last term, his figures are among the best in the continent and comparable in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years each.

Team Display

Measures of team performance will worry Slot more. Salah had 76 contacts in the opposition box in the opening seven matches of last season. This term's tally is thirty-nine. These figures are symptomatic of the team's difficulties as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the poorest in the Premier League, their share from distance among the top. The club's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action produces the highest quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not hurting opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, though Liverpool remain the division's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any boss in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his offense will do when it clicks. The side are still a team of exceptional individual quality, capable of starting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is lacking. This cannot be attributed on the summer recruits only.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole senior player to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has recently engulfed the club. That extends to a personal level, with his sorrow over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The impact of his death can not be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Changes

Last season, he