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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah reappeared assuming the lead part last week with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man claiming center stage yet again. Liverpool must have him to keep that position.

Factors for Inconsistent Performances

There exist many factors why inconsistent, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme running through the team's opening to their title defence, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, a losing run. The upheaval from so many new signings, the coach's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's loss; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically quiet opening to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the impetus for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to the stadium and have not triumphed at their archrivals for almost a decade. The attacker will present Slot with an additional unexpected problem, though, should he stay caught in the upheaval for an extended period.

Current Performance

Liverpool's manager must have seen the paradox of the player's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck immediately with the outside of his left foot into the front post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualifying effort was from an nearly the same position to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

Had that attempt been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating the new signing's maiden superb setup in the league. Inquests into his dip and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait persists while the coach fumes over a third defeat away, a couple inflicted by last-minute winners and one the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as he reiterated on recently, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was crucial in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while speculation over his career lingered in the backdrop. “We brought almost the best out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decline

His output in terms of goals and setups is down half on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of shots has fallen from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to five, causing a significant fall in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

One attribute that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, versus fourteen at the comparable period of last term, his figures are among the best in Europe and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Metrics of collective performance will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy box in the opening seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This term's tally is 39. The stats are reflective of the team's problems in general. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them this season, but the team's rate of attempts from inside the goal area is the lowest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the greatest. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Currently we have not seen as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the team that from live action generates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They aren't punishing foes in the way the coach planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool remain the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to igniting and reeling in any foe for the championship, but unity is missing. This cannot be attributed on the new signings only.

Individual and Collective Challenges

Salah is not the sole established player to suffer a dip, with the midfielder regaining to fitness and the defender laboring. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has lately affected Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with his sorrow over the passing of Jota clear on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his tragedy can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he