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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back taking on the starring role in recent days with a brace in Morocco that sealed Egypt's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The key player stepping on center stage once more. The Reds need him to keep that position.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

There are numerous causes why unsteady, lackluster showings have been the recurring theme defining the team's opening to their championship defense, if they recorded a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many new signings, Arne Slot's quest for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's big match could provide the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will present Slot with another unexpected problem, though, should he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Latest Performance

The team's boss must have seen the irony of Salah's first goal against Djibouti recently. Drilled immediately with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his costly miss versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been finished moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the league. Discussions into Salah's decline and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach broods over a third away defeat, a couple caused by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was instrumental in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title last season while speculation over his future lingered in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed an extension in April. There has been a obvious drop-off on an personal and team level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Drop

His output in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to twelve while shots on target have dropped from fifteen to 5, causing a significant decline in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With twelve opportunities made, compared with fourteen at the comparable period of last term, his stats are among the finest in the continent and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and 13 years each.

Team Display

Measures of collective performance will concern Slot additionally. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy box in the initial seven fixtures of the previous term. The current campaign's count is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the team's problems as a whole. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have taken more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the top flight, their share from distance among the top. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from open play generates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They aren't beating opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board recently, though the team stay the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any boss in Liverpool's history (46). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. The side remain a squad of supreme talent, able to igniting and reeling in any rival for the championship, but synergy is lacking. That can not be attributed on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Personal and Team Problems

The player is not the sole established player to suffer a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and the defender toiling. But he is at the center of the upheaval that has recently affected the club. This applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that poignant opening night against the Cherries. The effect of his loss can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he