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It's been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back taking on the lead part last week with two goals in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the limelight once more. Liverpool need him to stay there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Performances

There exist several causes why variable, unimpressive displays have been the frequent pattern defining the team's start to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The disruption from so many offseason moves, the coach's hunt for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key opening to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will present the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, should he continue caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Latest Form

The team's boss must have seen the irony of the player's initial score against Djibouti in midweek. Swept first time with the outside of his stronger foot into the close post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his big mistake in the Chelsea match before the national team pause.

Had that right-foot effort been scored shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's first superb setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his drop and Liverpool's rare losing streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, two inflicted by last-minute winners and one the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was crucial in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title last season while doubt over his future rumbled in the background. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a noticeable drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Decline

His production in terms of goals and setups is down half on the same stage last season, from a total 8 in the first seven league games of last season to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have declined from fifteen to 5, contributing to a sharp decline in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his stats are among the finest in the continent and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Team Output

Metrics of collective output will concern Slot further. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of the previous term. The current campaign's count is 39. These figures are reflective of the team's problems in general. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than them now, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the lowest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. The club's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” the manager said. “Now we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not hurting opponents in the way Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, although the team stay the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side are still a squad of outstanding skill, able to sparking and reeling in any rival for the championship, but synergy is lacking. This cannot be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

The player is not the sole key player to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the heart of the upheaval that has recently engulfed the club. That applies to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant opening night against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's death can neither be assessed nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he