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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the starring role last week with a brace in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on the limelight yet again. The Merseyside club need him to stay there.

Causes for Variable Performances

There are several causes why inconsistent, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their title defence, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three losses in a row. The upheaval from numerous offseason moves, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could offer the spark for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, though, if he stay caught in the upheaval much longer.

Recent Performance

The team's manager likely noticed the contrast of the player's opening strike against the opponent recently. Struck directly with the outside of his stronger foot into the front post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's qualification run was from an nearly the same position to his big mistake in the Chelsea match prior to the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been finished moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising the new signing's maiden superb setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his decline and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might also have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's wait persists while the coach stews over a third loss on the road, two due to dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown last season while uncertainty over his career lingered in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the best out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a obvious drop-off on an individual and team level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are to blame.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and setups is lower half on the same point last season, from a combined 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have declined from 15 to 5, causing a significant drop in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With twelve opportunities made, against fourteen at the comparable period of last campaign, his figures stay among the top in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Output

Indicators of team output will concern the coach more. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of last season. This season's total is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties as a whole. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have taken more shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's proportion of shots from inside the goal area is the lowest in the division, their share from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net 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 lack as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play produces the most quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing rivals in the way Slot imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, though Liverpool are the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to achieve the 100-point mark in less games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it does settle. The side are still a team of exceptional skill, able to sparking and chasing any foe for the championship, but cohesion is missing. This can not be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Individual and Team Problems

The player is not the only established player to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the heart of the upheaval that has of late affected Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with his grief over the loss of Jota obvious on that heartfelt first game against the Cherries. The influence of his tragedy can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he