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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned taking on the starring role recently with two goals in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the upcoming World Cup. The star claiming center stage another time. Liverpool need him to keep that position.

Factors for Unsteady Displays

We see many causes why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the frequent pattern running through the team's start to their title defence, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from so many offseason moves, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his unusually low-key start to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could offer the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 outings for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not won at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will present Slot with another unexpected problem, though, should he continue caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Current Performance

The team's manager must have recognized the paradox of Salah's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled directly with the outside of his stronger foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualification run came from an almost identical location to his expensive error in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been finished moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first excellent pass in the English top flight. Analyses into his drop and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might also have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search persists while Slot fumes over a third defeat away, two caused by late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as he emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was key in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown last season while speculation over his career persisted in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a clear drop-off on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

His production in terms of goals and assists is down 50% on the same point last season, from a combined eight in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to twelve while shots on target have declined from 15 to 5, causing a steep decline in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, compared with 14 at the same stage of last term, his figures are among the finest in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Team Display

Measures of collective display will worry the coach further. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's count is 39. The numbers are indicative of the team's problems in general. Just United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than them this season, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from within the goal area is the smallest in the division, their ratio from outside the area among the top. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from live action generates the highest quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not hurting foes in the manner the coach planned when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were brought on board this summer, while the team remain the league's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Consider what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of supreme talent, equipped to sparking and chasing any foe for the title, but cohesion is lacking. That cannot be attributed on the new signings by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

The player is not the only established member to suffer a dip, with the midfielder returning to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the center of the upheaval that has recently affected the club. That goes to a personal level, with his sorrow over the passing of Jota obvious on that emotional first game against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's death can not be assessed nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

Previously, he