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It's been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back assuming the main part last week with a brace in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the limelight yet again. The Reds need him to remain there.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There exist many factors why variable, unconvincing displays have been the frequent pattern running through the team's beginning to their championship defense, if they achieved seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from so many offseason moves, the coach's hunt for his top team, the late forward's passing; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could deliver the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for over nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, should he continue lost in the upheaval for an extended period.

Latest Form

Liverpool's head coach must have seen the contrast of Salah's first goal against Djibouti in midweek. Swept immediately with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his expensive error in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb setup in the Premier League. Discussions into his drop and the team's unusual losing run might also have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's search continues while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as he emphasized on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was key in driving the side towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his future persisted in the backdrop. We achieved almost the best out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a obvious decline on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

His contribution in terms of scores and setups is lower half on the corresponding stage last season, from a combined 8 in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and two assists) this term. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have declined from 15 to five, contributing to a steep fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, against 14 at the equivalent point of last term, his stats remain among the finest in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Display

Measures of collective performance will worry Slot additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven league games of last season. The current campaign's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are reflective of the team's difficulties as a whole. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the lowest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the top. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a special moment from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we lack as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from open play creates the most xG chances.”

New Signings

They are not beating rivals in the fashion Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed this summer, though the team are the league's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to reach the 100-point total in less games than any boss in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a squad of supreme individual quality, able to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but synergy is lacking. That cannot be blamed on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole senior player to experience a dip, with the midfielder working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the heart of the disruption that has recently affected the club. This applies to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota evident on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's tragedy can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he