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It's been some time, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the starring role recently with a double in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the upcoming World Cup. The main man claiming the limelight another time. The Merseyside club need him to remain there.

Factors for Inconsistent Showings

We see several causes why inconsistent, lackluster performances have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their title defence, if they produced seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The disruption from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, the late forward's tragic death; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for almost a decade. The attacker will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, however, if he remain caught in the disruption for an extended period.

Recent Performance

Liverpool's boss likely recognized the contrast of Salah's first goal against Djibouti recently. Drilled directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his big mistake against Chelsea before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden sublime setup in the league. Analyses into his decline and the team's infrequent losing streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's wait persists while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, two caused by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was crucial in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th championship the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the background. We achieved nearly the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and team level from then. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and setups is reduced half on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven matches of 2024-25 to four (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. The count of attempts has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With twelve opportunities made, against fourteen at the equivalent point of last campaign, his numbers stay among the top in the continent and up in the group of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Display

Metrics of collective performance will worry the coach more. He had 76 touches in the opposition box in the first seven matches of last season. This season's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's problems as a whole. Only United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than them in the current term, but the team's rate of shots from within the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from live action produces the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating opponents in the manner the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed in the offseason, although Liverpool remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in the club's past (46). Consider what his offense will do when it does settle. The side remain a squad of supreme individual quality, able to starting and catching any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has lately engulfed Liverpool. That goes to a individual level, with his sorrow over the loss of Jota clear on that heartfelt season opener against Bournemouth. The impact of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Adjustments

Last season, he