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It's been a while, but the Egyptian star was back assuming the lead part recently with two goals in Casablanca that secured Egypt's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star claiming the limelight once more. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

We see several factors why inconsistent, unimpressive showings have been the recurring theme defining the team's start to their title defence, if they recorded a winning streak or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The disruption from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his atypically quiet beginning to the campaign.

The Weekend's Big Match

The weekend's big match could deliver the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, should he stay caught in the turmoil much longer.

Latest Display

The team's manager must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent recently. Swept immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualifying effort came from an very similar spot to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been converted moments after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime assist in the Premier League. Discussions into his decline and the team's rare defeat streak might also have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot broods over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was crucial in propelling Liverpool towards a historic 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his future rumbled in the background. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an individual and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the same point last season, from a total eight in the first seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His number of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to 5, causing a steep drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With 12 chances created, versus 14 at the comparable period of the previous season, his figures remain among the best in Europe and comparable in the company of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of team output will worry the coach more. Salah had 76 contacts in the enemy box in the first seven league games of last season. The current campaign's total is 39. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's issues in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's rate of shots from within the goal area is the lowest in the division, their share from long range among the top. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Now we lack as many acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from open play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't beating rivals in the manner Slot envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed recently, though Liverpool remain the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the century of points in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of exceptional individual quality, able to igniting and reeling in any foe for the championship, but synergy is absent. This can not be attributed on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Problems

Salah is not the sole key member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and the defender laboring. But he is at the heart of the upheaval that has lately enveloped the club. This extends to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Jota clear on that poignant season opener against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's tragedy can not be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he