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It's been a period, but the Egyptian star returned assuming the main part in recent days with a double in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking the limelight yet again. The Reds must have him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

There are many factors why variable, unconvincing displays have been the frequent pattern running through the team's opening to their championship defense, whether they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple new signings, the coach's quest for his top team, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his unusually subdued opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose the manager with a further surprise issue, yet, if he remain lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Current Display

The team's head coach likely recognized the contrast of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Swept first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same position 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 setup in the Premier League. Analyses into Salah's dip and the team's unusual losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search goes on while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his career rumbled in the background. We extracted almost the maximum out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a obvious decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Statistical Decline

His contribution in terms of goals and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of attempts has dropped from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to 5, contributing to a significant decline in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, versus fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his numbers stay among the top in the continent and comparable in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Performance

Indicators of team performance will trouble the coach further. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy box in the opening seven fixtures of last season. This term's total is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the team's issues overall. Only Manchester United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's percentage of shots from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the Premier League, their ratio from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the weakest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we have not seen as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play generates the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not punishing rivals in the manner the coach planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, although the team are the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Consider what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of supreme individual quality, equipped to sparking and reeling in any foe for the title, but synergy is missing. This cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole established member to experience a dip, with the midfielder returning to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he is at the heart of the turmoil that has lately affected the club. That goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota evident on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The impact of his tragedy can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Changes

Previously, he