🔗 Share this article

It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned playing the starring role in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the limelight another time. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Causes for Variable Performances

There are several reasons why variable, lackluster showings have been the recurring theme defining Liverpool's beginning to their league defense, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on Sunday, three losses in a row. The disruption from so many new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually quiet start to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the origin of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he continue lost in the turmoil for an extended period.

Current Form

Liverpool's manager likely noticed the contrast of the player's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck directly with the exterior of his stronger foot into the close post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualification run was from an nearly the same location to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the international break.

If that attempt been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first superb assist in the league. Discussions into his decline and the team's rare defeat streak might also have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while the coach broods over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple inflicted by last-minute winners and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in propelling the side towards a tying 20th championship last season while doubt over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a clear decline on an personal and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Performance Drop

His contribution in terms of goals and setups is lower half on the corresponding point last season, from a total 8 in the first seven matches of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to five, contributing to a steep drop in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his chance creation. With 12 opportunities made, versus 14 at the same stage of last term, his numbers are among the finest in Europe and up in the group of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Display

Indicators of team display will concern the coach additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition box in the first seven league games of last season. This season's total is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the team's issues as a whole. Only Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than them this season, but the team's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the division, their ratio from distance among the top. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from a special moment from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Currently we have not seen as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the side that from open play creates the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing opponents in the fashion Slot envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed in the offseason, although Liverpool are the league's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it clicks. The side remain a squad of outstanding talent, equipped to sparking and catching any rival for the championship, but synergy is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Personal and Team Issues

The player is not the sole established player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the disruption that has recently enveloped the club. This goes to a individual level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota obvious on that poignant first game against the Cherries. The influence of Jota's tragedy can not be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he