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It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward reappeared playing the lead part recently with two goals in Casablanca that secured Egypt's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking center stage another time. The Reds must have him to stay there.

Causes for Variable Performances

There are many causes why unsteady, lackluster performances have been the recurring theme defining Liverpool's beginning to their title defence, if they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his top team, the late forward's loss; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically quiet opening to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will present Slot with another unexpected problem, yet, should he stay caught in the disruption much longer.

Current Display

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the irony of Salah's initial score against the opponent recently. Swept directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualifying effort originated from an very similar position to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the international break.

Had that shot with his right been scored shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb assist in the league. Inquests into his decline and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, two caused by late goals and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was crucial in driving the side towards a tying 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and team level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a total eight in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. The count of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from fifteen to five, contributing to a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is his creativity. With twelve key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last campaign, his stats are among the finest in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Display

Metrics of team output will concern the coach more. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of last season. This term's count is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's problems in general. Only United and the Gunners have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the greatest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had 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 most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not punishing foes in the manner the coach planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, while the team remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's history (46). Consider what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional skill, capable of sparking and chasing any foe for the championship, but unity is absent. That cannot be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only established player to suffer a decline, with the midfielder regaining to fitness and the defender laboring. But he finds himself at the center of the disruption that has recently engulfed the club. That extends to a individual level, with his grief over the passing of Jota obvious on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's death can not be assessed nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

Last season, he