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It's been some time, but Liverpool's forward reappeared playing the starring role in recent days with a brace in Morocco that confirmed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The star taking the limelight yet again. The Reds need him to stay there.

Factors for Inconsistent Displays

We see numerous factors why variable, unimpressive showings have been the common thread defining the team's start to their title defence, whether they achieved a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from numerous summer changes, Arne Slot's quest for his best XI, the late forward's loss; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his unusually subdued beginning to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will pose Slot with a further surprise issue, however, should he continue lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Current Display

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the irony of the player's initial score against Djibouti in midweek. Drilled directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualification run originated from an very similar spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

Had that right-foot effort been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the league. Discussions into his decline and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach broods over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple caused by last-minute winners and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as he emphasized on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was key in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the prior campaign while speculation over his future lingered in the backdrop. We achieved almost the utmost out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a clear drop-off on an personal and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

His output in terms of goals and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding point last season, from a combined 8 in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His number of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from fifteen to five, causing a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

One attribute that has held more steady is his chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus fourteen at the same stage of last term, his stats stay among the finest in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective display will worry the coach more. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven matches of the previous term. The current campaign's count is 39. These figures are reflective of the squad's difficulties overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have taken more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool's percentage of shots from inside the six-yard box is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from long range among the greatest. Liverpool's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mainly found the net from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from live action creates the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating foes in the fashion Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired recently, while the team stay the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a squad of supreme individual quality, able to igniting and reeling in any opponent for the title, but cohesion is absent. This can not be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Collective Problems

Salah is not the only key player to suffer a dip, with the midfielder returning to form and the defender laboring. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has of late engulfed the club. This applies to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant opening night against Bournemouth. The influence of his loss can neither be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Changes

Previously, he