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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the starring role recently with two goals in Casablanca that secured Egypt's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star stepping on the spotlight once more. The Merseyside club require him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Displays

We see many reasons why unsteady, lackluster showings have been the common thread running through Liverpool's start to their title defence, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet opening to the season.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not triumphed at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will present the manager with a further surprise issue, though, should he stay lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Performance

The team's head coach must have recognized the paradox of Salah's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Swept first time with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the front post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's qualification run originated from an very similar location to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been finished shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb assist in the Premier League. Inquests into his drop and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while the coach fumes over a third away defeat, two due to late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as he repeated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was instrumental in driving the side towards a tying 20th crown the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a clear decrease on an personal and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Performance Drop

His output in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the same point last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (two goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has fallen from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a sharp drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is his creativity. With twelve chances created, versus 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his stats are among the top in Europe and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Display

Measures of collective output will worry Slot further. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven matches of the prior campaign. This term's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's issues overall. Only United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than them now, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the poorest in the division, their ratio from outside the area among the greatest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “Now we have not seen as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from live action produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not punishing opponents in the fashion the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed recently, although the team are the division's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of supreme skill, equipped to starting and chasing any rival for the title, but synergy is lacking. This cannot be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Individual and Team Issues

Salah is not the only established player to suffer a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the heart of the upheaval that has recently affected the club. That goes to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Jota clear on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's death can not be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he