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It has been a while, but Liverpool's forward reappeared playing the starring role in recent days with a brace in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The key player taking the spotlight yet again. Liverpool require him to keep that position.

Factors for Unsteady Showings

We see many causes why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme running through the team's beginning to their championship defense, if they recorded a winning streak or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from so many summer changes, the coach's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; the winger has experienced the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could deliver the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for almost a decade. The attacker will present the manager with a further unexpected problem, though, should he remain caught in the disruption much longer.

Recent Form

The team's boss must have seen the irony of Salah's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the near post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualification run came from an almost identical position to his expensive error in the Chelsea match before the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been converted shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be celebrating the new signing's maiden sublime setup in the Premier League. Analyses into his drop and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach fumes over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as he reiterated on recently, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was crucial in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the previous term while doubt over his long-term plans lingered in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a obvious drop-off on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

His production in terms of scores and assists is down half on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. His number of attempts has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from fifteen to 5, leading to a sharp fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's creativity. With 12 chances created, versus 14 at the equivalent point of the previous season, his numbers stay among the best in the continent and up in the group of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and 13 years each.

Collective Performance

Measures of team performance will concern Slot further. He had 76 contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are reflective of the squad's issues in general. Only United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them this season, but Liverpool's percentage of shots from within the six-yard area is the lowest in the Premier League, their share from distance among the top. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is also among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the team that from live action creates the highest quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing opponents in the fashion Slot planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed recently, though the team are the division's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the century of points in less games than any manager in the club's history (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of supreme individual quality, capable of sparking and chasing any opponent for the championship, but unity is absent. That can not be attributed on the new signings alone.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the only key member to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the heart of the upheaval that has recently engulfed the club. That applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the death of Jota evident on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's death can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

Previously, he