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It has been a period, but the Egyptian star returned taking on the starring role last week with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the upcoming World Cup. The star taking the limelight once more. The Merseyside club must have him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Performances

We see several factors why variable, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The disruption from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet start to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the origin of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will present Slot with a further unexpected problem, however, if he remain caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Latest Form

The team's head coach likely noticed the irony of the player's initial score against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck first time with the exterior of his stronger foot into the close post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error against Chelsea before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been converted moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be celebrating the new signing's maiden sublime pass in the English top flight. Inquests into his dip and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's wait persists while the coach stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was crucial in propelling Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title the prior campaign while uncertainty over his future lingered in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the utmost out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a noticeable drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is lower 50% on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a total eight in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have declined from fifteen to 5, contributing to a sharp drop in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, against fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his figures remain among the top in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective output will trouble Slot additionally. He had 76 contacts in the opposition box in the opening seven fixtures of last season. This season's total is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the squad's problems in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of shots on goal than them now, but the team's percentage of shots from inside the goal area is the lowest in the Premier League, their ratio from distance among the top. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also 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 second half it was mostly from a set piece,” the manager said. “Currently we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play produces the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They aren't beating opponents in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were brought on board recently, while Liverpool stay the division's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of outstanding individual quality, equipped to starting and chasing any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be blamed on the new signings by themselves.

Individual and Team Problems

The player is not the only senior member to experience a decline, with the midfielder regaining to match sharpness and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the heart of the turmoil that has recently affected Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Diogo Jota evident on that poignant opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he