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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the starring role recently with a double in Casablanca that secured Egypt's position at the upcoming World Cup. The key player stepping on the limelight yet again. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Displays

There exist numerous causes why inconsistent, lackluster performances have been the frequent pattern characterizing Liverpool's beginning to their title defence, if they produced seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The turmoil from numerous new signings, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the campaign.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the impetus for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will present the manager with an additional unforeseen dilemma, however, if he stay lost in the disruption much longer.

Latest Form

The team's head coach likely seen the paradox of Salah's first goal against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run came from an nearly the same location to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the break for internationals.

Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the English top flight. Analyses into Salah's drop and Liverpool's unusual losing run might as well have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's search persists while the coach broods over a third loss on the road, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was key in propelling the side towards a historic 20th crown the previous term while uncertainty over his future lingered in the background. We achieved almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a obvious drop-off on an personal and team level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and setups is down 50% on the same stage the previous term, from a total 8 in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His number of shots has decreased from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have dropped from fifteen to five, leading to a steep decline in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's creativity. With 12 key passes, against fourteen at the same stage of last term, his figures remain among the top in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective display will trouble Slot more. He had seventy-six touches in the enemy box in the initial seven matches of last season. This term's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's difficulties as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of shots on goal than them now, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the Premier League, their percentage from distance among the greatest. Liverpool's proportion of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from live action generates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating foes in the fashion the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed recently, although the team remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's past (46). Imagine what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of outstanding talent, equipped to igniting and catching any opponent for the championship, but unity is missing. That can not be attributed on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the only key player to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the center of the disruption that has recently engulfed Liverpool. That applies to a personal level, with his grief over the passing of Diogo Jota obvious on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The influence of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor ignored.

Tactical Shifts

Previously, he