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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned taking on the main part in recent days with a double in Casablanca that secured Egypt's position at the 2026 World Cup. The star claiming center stage yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Reasons for Variable Displays

We see many factors why variable, unimpressive performances have been the common thread running through the team's opening to their league defense, whether they recorded a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's quest for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his unusually quiet start to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could offer the catalyst for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for almost a decade. The attacker will create Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he continue lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Form

Liverpool's boss likely recognized the contrast of Salah's initial score against Djibouti last Wednesday. Swept directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's qualifying effort came from an very similar spot to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that attempt been scored shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising the new signing's maiden excellent pass in the English top flight. Discussions into his drop and the team's unusual losing streak might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while Slot broods over a third defeat away, a couple due to last-minute winners and another the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as he repeated on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was crucial in driving the side towards a tying 20th league title the prior campaign while uncertainty over his future lingered in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a clear decrease on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is lower half on the corresponding point last season, from a combined eight in the first seven fixtures of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) the current campaign. His number of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while shots on target have fallen from 15 to five, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With 12 chances created, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last term, his stats stay among the best in the continent and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Measures of collective performance will trouble Slot more. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's tally is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the squad's issues in general. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of shots on goal than them this season, but the team's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their share from distance among the greatest. The club's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Currently we haven’t had as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the side that from live action produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not punishing foes in the manner the coach imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed this summer, while Liverpool are the division's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the century of points in less games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. The side remain a squad of outstanding individual quality, capable of starting and catching any opponent for the title, but unity is missing. That cannot be blamed on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole key member to experience a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the center of the upheaval that has lately engulfed Liverpool. This applies to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the passing of Jota clear on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's tragedy can not be quantified nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

Previously, he