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It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah reappeared assuming the lead part in recent days with two goals in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The main man taking the limelight another time. The Reds must have him to remain there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Displays

We see many factors why inconsistent, unconvincing displays have been the common thread defining the team's beginning to their title defence, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could offer the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their archrivals for over nine years. Salah will present the manager with an additional surprise issue, however, if he continue caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Form

The team's head coach likely recognized the paradox of Salah's initial score against Djibouti in midweek. Swept immediately with the outside of his stronger foot into the near post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same location to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first superb setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his dip and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while Slot fumes over a third loss on the road, a couple due to last-minute winners and another the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was instrumental in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while uncertainty over his career lingered in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Mo that campaign,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an individual and collective level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and assists is down half on the same point the previous term, from a combined 8 in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His number of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have fallen from fifteen to five, causing a significant fall in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his figures stay among the best in Europe and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Output

Metrics of team display will worry Slot more. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy box in the first seven league games of last season. This season's count is 39. The stats are reflective of the squad's problems in general. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than them in the current term, but the team's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from outside the area among the greatest. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a special moment 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 sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play creates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing rivals in the way Slot planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board recently, though the team remain the division's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of outstanding skill, equipped to igniting and catching any opponent for the championship, but synergy is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals only.

Individual and Collective Issues

Salah is not the only senior player to suffer a decline, with the midfielder returning to match sharpness and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has lately affected Liverpool. That applies to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota evident on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The effect of his death can not be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he