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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah reappeared assuming the main part recently with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on center stage another time. The Reds must have him to stay there.

Reasons for Unsteady Displays

We see several causes why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the common thread defining Liverpool's opening to their championship defense, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's visit to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple offseason moves, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically quiet start to the campaign.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could offer the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will present the manager with another surprise issue, however, should he stay lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Form

The team's manager must have noticed the paradox of Salah's initial score against Djibouti recently. Drilled immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's qualification run originated from an very similar position to his big mistake against Chelsea before the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first excellent assist in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's decline and the team's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach fumes over a third loss on the road, two caused by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he emphasized on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was key in propelling the side towards a historic 20th league title the previous term while doubt over his future persisted in the backdrop. We achieved almost the utmost out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a clear decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Drop

His production in terms of scores and setups is down 50% on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a combined 8 in the opening seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a significant drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is Salah's playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, against 14 at the comparable period of the previous season, his stats stay among the top in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Metrics of collective performance will concern Slot further. He had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the first seven league games of the previous term. This term's tally is 39. The numbers are reflective of the squad's problems overall. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their share from distance among the top. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly scored from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from general play produces the highest xG chances.”

New Signings

They are not punishing opponents in the manner Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool stay the division's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it clicks. The side are still a squad of supreme talent, equipped to igniting and chasing any foe for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only key player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the heart of the disruption that has of late engulfed the club. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Jota clear on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The influence of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

Previously, he