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It's been some time, but Liverpool's forward was back taking on the starring role recently with a brace in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking center stage once more. The Reds require him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There are several reasons why variable, unimpressive performances have been the frequent pattern defining the team's opening to their title defence, if they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from so many new signings, the coach's hunt for his best XI, the late forward's passing; Salah has endured the impact of them all during his unusually quiet beginning to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for over nine years. Salah will create the manager with another surprise issue, however, if he continue caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Display

Liverpool's manager likely noticed the irony of Salah's initial score against Djibouti recently. Drilled first time with the outside of his left foot into the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an nearly the same location to his big mistake versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been converted shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the Premier League. Discussions into his decline and the team's unusual losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's search goes on while the coach fumes over a third away defeat, two caused by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as Slot repeated on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was key in pushing Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his future rumbled in the background. We extracted almost the maximum out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a obvious decrease on an personal and collective level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the same point last season, from a combined 8 in the opening seven matches of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of attempts has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to five, contributing to a steep fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, compared with 14 at the same stage of last term, his stats stay among the finest in the continent and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Team Output

Indicators of collective display will trouble Slot more. Salah had 76 contacts in the opposition box in the opening seven league games of the prior campaign. The current campaign's count is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the team's problems overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's rate of shots from within the goal area is the lowest in the Premier League, their share from long range among the greatest. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the second half it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Currently we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from live action creates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing rivals in the way Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, while Liverpool stay the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to achieve the century of points in less games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of exceptional talent, able to sparking and reeling in any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. That can not be pinned on the new signings alone.

Personal and Collective Issues

Salah is not the sole key player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder returning to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has of late affected the club. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota obvious on that emotional season opener against Bournemouth. The influence of his death can not be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he