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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the main part in recent days with two goals in Morocco that confirmed Egypt's place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking the limelight once more. The Reds need him to remain there.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

We see many causes why variable, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's opening to their league defense, if they achieved a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from numerous summer changes, the coach's search for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has experienced the impact of them all during his atypically low-key opening to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could deliver the impetus for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will present the manager with another unforeseen dilemma, though, if he stay caught in the upheaval much longer.

Current Display

The team's manager must have noticed the contrast of Salah's opening strike against the opponent recently. Drilled immediately with the outside of his left foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an nearly the same location to his expensive error in the Chelsea match before the break for internationals.

Had that right-foot effort been finished moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first excellent pass in the English top flight. Inquests into Salah's dip and the team's infrequent losing run might as well have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach stews over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by late goals and one the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in propelling Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his career persisted in the backdrop. We extracted almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and assists is reduced half on the corresponding stage last season, from a combined eight in the opening seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has dropped from 22 to 12 while shots on target have dropped from 15 to 5, leading to a significant decline in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, against 14 at the same stage of last term, his stats remain among the top in Europe and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Output

Indicators of collective performance will concern Slot additionally. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy box in the initial seven fixtures of last season. This term's total is 39. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have attempted more shots on goal than them now, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the smallest in the division, their ratio from distance among the greatest. The club's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action produces the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating rivals in the way Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, although Liverpool are the league's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side remain a squad of outstanding talent, able to starting and chasing any rival for the title, but synergy is absent. This cannot be pinned on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Issues

The player is not the only senior member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to form and the defender struggling. But he ends up at the center of the turmoil that has of late enveloped the club. That extends to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's tragedy can not be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he