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It has been a period, but the Egyptian star reappeared assuming the lead part last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on the spotlight yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Displays

There exist several factors why variable, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's beginning to their championship defense, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on Sunday, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, the coach's search for his top team, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically subdued beginning to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's big match could offer the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will create the manager with another unforeseen dilemma, though, if he continue lost in the disruption for an extended period.

Recent Form

Liverpool's boss likely noticed the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Struck first time with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the close post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the English top flight. Analyses into his dip and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might as well have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's wait continues while Slot broods over a third loss on the road, two caused by late goals and one the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was key in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title last season while speculation over his future rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and setups is lower half on the same point the previous term, from a total 8 in the initial seven matches of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from 15 to 5, leading to a significant decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last campaign, his stats remain among the top in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of collective display will concern the coach more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of the previous term. This season's total is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the team's difficulties overall. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of shots from inside the goal area is the smallest in the division, their percentage from long range among the greatest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Currently we haven’t had as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play creates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing rivals in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed recently, while Liverpool are the league's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to achieve the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side are still a team of outstanding talent, able to starting and reeling in any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is absent. That cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Problems

Salah is not the sole established member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the heart of the upheaval that has of late engulfed the club. This applies to a personal level, with his sorrow over the death of Jota evident on that emotional first game against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's tragedy can neither be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he