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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the starring role recently with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The star claiming center stage yet again. The Reds require him to keep that position.

Reasons for Unsteady Displays

There are several causes why variable, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme defining the team's start to their title defence, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's loss; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his atypically subdued opening to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the spark for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, though, if he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Display

The team's manager likely seen the contrast of the player's opening strike against the opponent recently. Drilled directly with the exterior of his left foot into the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run originated from an nearly the same location to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first excellent assist in the league. Discussions into his dip and Liverpool's unusual losing streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's search persists while the coach fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, two due to last-minute winners and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as he emphasized on recently, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while speculation over his career persisted in the background. We extracted nearly the best out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a obvious decline on an personal and team level since. The team, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

His output in terms of scores and setups is down 50% on the same stage the previous term, from a total 8 in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to four (two goals and two assists) this term. His number of attempts has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have declined from 15 to 5, leading to a steep fall in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With twelve chances created, compared with 14 at the same stage of the previous season, his numbers are among the best in Europe and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Display

Indicators of team display will concern the coach additionally. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's count is 39. These figures are indicative of the squad's problems in general. Only United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of shots on goal than them now, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their ratio from outside the area among the greatest. The club's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from live action creates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating rivals in the manner Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired this summer, though the team stay the league's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to achieve the 100-point total in less games than any coach in the club's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it does settle. Liverpool are still a squad of supreme talent, capable of igniting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is absent. This can not be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

The player is not the sole key player to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the heart of the upheaval that has of late affected Liverpool. That applies to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the death of Diogo Jota evident on that poignant first game against the Cherries. The impact of his death can not be assessed nor overlooked.

Strategic Changes

Last season, he