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It's been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back playing the starring role last week with a double in Morocco that confirmed Egypt's position at the upcoming World Cup. The star taking the spotlight once more. The Merseyside club require him to remain there.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

There exist numerous reasons why variable, lackluster performances have been the common thread characterizing the team's start to their championship defense, if they recorded a winning streak or, before Manchester United's visit to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple summer changes, the coach's quest for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has endured the impact of them all during his unusually low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's big match could provide the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not won at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he continue lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Form

Liverpool's boss likely seen the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the near post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualification run came from an very similar location to his big mistake in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

Had that shot with his right been scored moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising the new signing's first superb pass in the league. Inquests into Salah's drop and the team's rare defeat streak might also have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot fumes over a third away defeat, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as he repeated on recently, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was instrumental in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while speculation over his future lingered in the background. We achieved almost the utmost out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a noticeable decline on an personal and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and setups is lower 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to five, causing a steep decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With 12 chances created, versus 14 at the comparable period of last term, his figures are among the best in the continent and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Display

Indicators of team display will trouble Slot further. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition box in the initial seven matches of the prior campaign. The current campaign's count is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's issues in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their ratio from long range among the greatest. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of last season we primarily scored from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play creates the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating opponents in the way Slot imagined when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired this summer, while Liverpool are the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to attain the century of points in less games than any manager in Liverpool's past (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a team of outstanding talent, capable of starting and reeling in any opponent for the title, but synergy is lacking. That can not be attributed on the summer recruits alone.

Personal and Collective Problems

Salah is not the only senior member to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the heart of the disruption that has lately affected Liverpool. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

Last season, he