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It has been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back playing the starring role last week with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's position at the 2026 World Cup. The key player stepping on the spotlight once more. The Merseyside club require him to keep that position.

Reasons for Inconsistent Displays

We see numerous causes why variable, unconvincing showings have been the common thread running through Liverpool's beginning to their championship defense, if they produced seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple summer changes, the coach's search for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the season.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the impetus for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he stay caught in the upheaval for an extended period.

Latest Display

The team's head coach must have recognized the paradox of Salah's initial score against Djibouti in midweek. Swept first time with the exterior of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an almost identical location to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

If that right-foot effort been scored moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb setup in the English top flight. Analyses into Salah's dip and the team's unusual losing streak might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search persists while the coach stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th league title the previous term while doubt over his future lingered in the backdrop. We achieved nearly the best out of Mo that campaign,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in April. We have seen a clear decrease on an individual and team level from then. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and setups is down half on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the first seven fixtures of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of shots has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to 5, contributing to a steep decline in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, figures show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With 12 chances created, compared with 14 at the comparable period of last term, his numbers remain among the top in Europe and up in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Team Output

Indicators of team output will concern the coach additionally. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the initial seven fixtures of last season. This season's tally is 39. The stats are reflective of the team's problems as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have tried a greater number of shots on goal than them now, but the team's proportion of shots from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their percentage from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “Currently we lack as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from general play creates the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating foes in the manner the coach planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, although the team are the division's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to attain the 100-point mark in less games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it does settle. The side are still a squad of exceptional talent, equipped to starting and catching any opponent for the title, but synergy is absent. That cannot be blamed on the new signings alone.

Individual and Team Problems

The player is not the only key player to experience a dip, with the midfielder returning to match sharpness and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the heart of the upheaval that has lately engulfed the club. This extends to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the death of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's death can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he