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It's been some time, but Liverpool's forward was back taking on the lead part last week with a double in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on center stage once more. The Merseyside club require him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Performances

We see many factors why inconsistent, lackluster showings have been the common thread running through the team's opening to their title defence, if they achieved seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from numerous summer changes, the coach's hunt for his top team, the late forward's passing; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his unusually low-key beginning to the season.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's key fixture could deliver the impetus for the origin of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their biggest foes for almost a decade. Salah will create the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, if he stay caught in the disruption much longer.

Current Display

Liverpool's boss must have seen the irony of Salah's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled directly with the outside of his stronger foot into the front post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an very similar spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating the new signing's maiden superb pass in the Premier League. Analyses into Salah's drop and Liverpool's infrequent losing streak might also have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while Slot stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two caused by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot repeated on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th crown last season while speculation over his future rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in April. We have seen a clear decline on an personal and team level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are to blame.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is reduced half on the same point the previous term, from a total 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (two goals and two assists) this term. The count of shots has dropped from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have declined from 15 to five, contributing to a steep fall in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, against fourteen at the same stage of last campaign, his stats are among the top in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of collective display will worry Slot further. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's tally is 39. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's issues overall. Only United and Arsenal have taken more attempts on goal than them now, but the team's percentage of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mostly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we lack as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the highest expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating foes in the way the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board recently, although the team are the division's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to achieve the 100-point mark in less games than any coach in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a team of supreme talent, equipped to sparking and reeling in any rival for the championship, but cohesion is absent. That can not be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only key player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to fitness and the defender toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has recently engulfed Liverpool. This applies to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's tragedy can not be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he