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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned taking on the main part recently with a brace in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The star claiming the limelight another time. Liverpool must have him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Displays

There exist several factors why inconsistent, unimpressive showings have been the frequent pattern defining the team's start to their title defence, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from numerous summer changes, the coach's quest for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet opening to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's key fixture could offer the spark 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 biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will create Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, though, should he continue caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Current Form

The team's boss must have recognized the paradox of the player's first goal against Djibouti last Wednesday. Swept first time with the exterior of his stronger foot into the near post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualification run came from an nearly the same spot to his expensive error against Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been converted shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden excellent setup in the league. Inquests into Salah's drop and the team's rare defeat streak might as well have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search continues while Slot stews over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as he emphasized on recently, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was key in pushing Liverpool towards a historic 20th championship the prior campaign while uncertainty over his long-term plans persisted in the background. We achieved almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a obvious decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The team, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and assists is down 50% on the same point the previous term, from a combined 8 in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. The count of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have fallen from fifteen to 5, causing a sharp drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With 12 key passes, against 14 at the same stage of last term, his stats stay among the best in Europe and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Performance

Indicators of collective output will trouble Slot further. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven matches of the prior campaign. The current campaign's total is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the team's problems as a whole. Only United and the Gunners have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the top flight, their share from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

During the initial phase of last season we primarily 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. “Currently we have not seen as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play generates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing opponents in the fashion Slot imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed recently, though the team stay the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the century of points in fewer games than any manager in the club's history (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side remain a squad of outstanding skill, able to igniting and catching any opponent for the championship, but synergy is absent. That cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals alone.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole senior player to suffer a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the disruption that has lately affected the club. This goes to a individual level, with his sadness over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The influence of his death can neither be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Adjustments

Last season, he