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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star reappeared playing the lead part in recent days with a brace in Morocco that secured Egypt's place at the upcoming World Cup. The star taking the limelight another time. Liverpool must have him to stay there.

Factors for Inconsistent Performances

We see several factors why unsteady, unconvincing performances have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's opening to their league defense, if they achieved a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, three losses in a row. The disruption from numerous new signings, the coach's quest for his top team, the late forward's passing; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically quiet opening to the term.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's key fixture could offer the impetus for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for almost a decade. Salah will create Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he continue caught in the disruption for an extended period.

Current Display

Liverpool's manager must have noticed the paradox of Salah's initial score against the opponent in midweek. Drilled first time with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the near post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualification run was from an very similar position to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

If that attempt been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden excellent pass in the Premier League. Discussions into his decline and the team's unusual losing run might also have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was key in pushing Liverpool towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while uncertainty over his long-term plans persisted in the background. “We brought nearly the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his main attacker 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 details of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is down half on the corresponding point last season, from a combined eight in the first seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to five, contributing to a steep fall in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With twelve chances created, compared with 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his stats are among the top in the continent and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Indicators of collective performance will trouble Slot further. Salah had 76 contacts in the enemy box in the first seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This season's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the team's problems as a whole. Only Manchester United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the division, their share from distance among the top. The club's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we mainly found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “Currently we lack as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play generates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't hurting opponents in the manner Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, although the team remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the century of points in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (46). Consider what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding skill, capable of starting and reeling in any rival for the title, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be attributed on the new signings by themselves.

Individual and Team Challenges

Salah is not the sole senior player to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has lately enveloped Liverpool. This applies to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of his loss can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

Last season, he