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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned taking on the lead part recently with a brace in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The star claiming the limelight once more. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Factors for Unsteady Showings

There are numerous causes why unsteady, unconvincing performances have been the common thread characterizing Liverpool's start to their league defense, if they achieved a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from so many offseason moves, the coach's quest for his best XI, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the spark for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will present the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, should he continue lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Latest Display

Liverpool's manager must have seen the irony of the player's first goal against Djibouti in midweek. Swept immediately with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, his eighth goal of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same position to his big mistake in the Chelsea match prior to the break for internationals.

Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising the new signing's maiden excellent setup in the league. Discussions into Salah's dip and the team's infrequent losing run might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach broods over a third away defeat, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in pushing the side towards a historic 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his long-term plans persisted in the backdrop. “We brought almost the maximum out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an individual and collective level from then. The team, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decline

His contribution in terms of goals and assists is down 50% on the corresponding point last season, from a combined 8 in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His tally of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from fifteen to five, contributing to a steep fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is Salah's playmaking. With twelve chances created, compared with 14 at the same stage of last term, his stats remain among the finest in the continent and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of collective display will worry the coach additionally. He had 76 touches in the opposition box in the initial seven league games of the prior campaign. This term's tally is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the team's difficulties in general. Just United and the Gunners have taken more shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their share from outside the area among the greatest. The club's rate of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mostly scored from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play creates the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating rivals in the fashion Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed recently, though Liverpool stay the division's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side are still a squad of outstanding individual quality, able to starting and reeling in any opponent for the title, but synergy is missing. That cannot be blamed on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

Salah is not the sole senior member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and the defender toiling. But he finds himself at the center of the turmoil that has recently engulfed the club. That applies to a individual level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota obvious on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's death can not be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

Last season, he