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It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back taking on the lead part last week with a brace in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The main man taking the spotlight yet again. Liverpool need him to stay there.

Factors for Inconsistent Performances

There are several factors why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the common thread running through the team's start to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from so many offseason moves, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his unusually low-key start to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the spark for the origin of a record 16 scores in 17 games for the club against United, who are making their 100th visit to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will create Slot with an additional unexpected problem, yet, if he remain lost in the turmoil much longer.

Latest Form

The team's head coach likely recognized the irony of the player's first goal against Djibouti in midweek. Struck directly with the exterior of his left foot inside the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an almost identical spot to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the international break.

If that attempt been scored moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising the new signing's first sublime setup in the league. Analyses into his dip and the team's rare losing streak might as well have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's wait persists while the coach fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as he reiterated on recently, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was key in propelling the side towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while uncertainty over his career persisted in the backdrop. We achieved nearly the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a obvious decline on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

His production in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. His tally of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have dropped from 15 to five, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is his chance creation. With 12 chances created, versus fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his figures stay among the finest in the continent and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Output

Metrics of collective display will trouble Slot more. He had 76 contacts in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven league games of the prior campaign. The current campaign's total is 39. The stats are indicative of the squad's problems as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from within the six-yard box is the poorest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. The club's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mostly found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” Slot said. “Now we lack as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from live action creates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't hurting rivals in the manner the coach planned when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were brought on board recently, though the team remain the division's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any boss in Liverpool's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side are still a team of outstanding talent, able to sparking and catching any opponent for the title, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Team Problems

Salah is not the only senior member to suffer a dip, with the midfielder returning to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has of late enveloped Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Jota evident on that poignant opening night against the Cherries. The impact of his death can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he