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It has been a while, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the starring role recently with two goals in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's place at the upcoming World Cup. The key player claiming the limelight once more. The Merseyside club need him to stay there.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

There are many factors why variable, lackluster showings have been the common thread defining the team's opening to their title defence, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from multiple offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key opening to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the impetus for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for almost a decade. Salah will create the manager with an additional unexpected problem, though, should he stay lost in the disruption for an extended period.

Latest Performance

The team's head coach must have noticed the contrast of the player's first goal against Djibouti recently. Struck immediately with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's qualifying effort originated from an very similar spot to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the international break.

If that attempt been scored moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the league. Analyses into Salah's dip and Liverpool's rare defeat streak might also have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by late goals and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was key in driving the side towards a historic 20th championship the prior campaign while speculation over his long-term plans lingered in the backdrop. We achieved almost the best out of Mo that campaign,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and team level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Drop

His production in terms of scores and assists is lower half on the same point the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. The count of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have declined from 15 to 5, contributing to a significant drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With twelve key passes, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his numbers stay among the top in Europe and up in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of team performance will concern Slot further. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven matches of the previous term. This season's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's issues in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted more shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the poorest in the Premier League, their ratio from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” Slot said. “Currently we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play creates the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't beating opponents in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, though the team stay the division's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Imagine what his forward line will do when it clicks. The side are still a squad of outstanding individual quality, able to sparking and reeling in any opponent for the title, but cohesion is absent. This can not be blamed on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Team Challenges

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the heart of the turmoil that has of late engulfed Liverpool. That extends to a individual level, with his sorrow over the loss of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he