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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared assuming the main part last week with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on the limelight another time. The Reds need him to stay there.

Reasons for Unsteady Showings

We see numerous causes why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's beginning to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his best XI, the late forward's loss; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his atypically quiet opening to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could offer the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not triumphed at their archrivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with a further surprise issue, however, if he continue lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Performance

The team's head coach must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent recently. Swept directly with the outside of his stronger foot into the near post, his eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical position to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that right-foot effort been finished moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden superb assist in the Premier League. Discussions into his dip and the team's rare losing run might as well have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach broods over a third away defeat, two due to late goals and one the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Impact

Salah was key in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title the previous term while doubt over his future lingered in the backdrop. We achieved almost the best out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Drop

His contribution in terms of scores and setups is reduced half on the same stage the previous term, from a combined 8 in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. The count of shots has fallen from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to five, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his chance creation. With twelve opportunities made, versus fourteen at the same stage of last term, his stats are among the finest in Europe and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of team display will concern the coach further. He had 76 contacts in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven matches of the previous term. This term's count is 39. The numbers are indicative of the squad's issues overall. Only United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool's percentage of shots from within the goal area is the poorest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we have not seen as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from live action creates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing rivals in the way Slot planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while the team remain the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side are still a squad of outstanding individual quality, equipped to starting and reeling in any foe for the title, but synergy is absent. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only established player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder returning to match sharpness and the defender laboring. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has lately engulfed the club. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota clear on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's tragedy can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he