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It's been a period, but Liverpool's forward returned taking on the lead part recently with two goals in Morocco that secured Egypt's place at the global tournament. The star claiming the limelight once more. The Merseyside club must have him to remain there.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

There are several factors why inconsistent, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern defining the team's beginning to their championship defense, whether they achieved a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from so many offseason moves, the coach's quest for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has experienced the impact of them all during his atypically quiet start to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's key fixture could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with a further surprise issue, however, if he continue lost in the upheaval for an extended period.

Recent Form

Liverpool's manager must have noticed the paradox of the player's opening strike against Djibouti in midweek. Drilled immediately with the outside of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualification run was from an nearly the same spot to his big mistake in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that shot with his right been converted moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first superb pass in the Premier League. Discussions into Salah's drop and the team's rare losing run might also have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach fumes over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot repeated on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Contribution

Salah was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while uncertainty over his career rumbled in the background. We extracted almost the maximum out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a obvious drop-off on an personal and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is reduced half on the same point last season, from a total eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has dropped from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to five, leading to a sharp decline in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus fourteen at the same stage of last campaign, his numbers remain among the top in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Team Display

Metrics of collective display will trouble the coach more. He had 76 contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven matches of last season. This season's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's difficulties in general. Only United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them now, but the team's percentage of shots from inside the goal area is the lowest in the top flight, their share from distance among the greatest. The club's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “This season we lack as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play creates the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating rivals in the fashion Slot imagined when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed this summer, while Liverpool are the league's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it clicks. The side are still a squad of supreme individual quality, equipped to sparking and chasing any foe for the championship, but unity is missing. This can not be blamed on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the core of the upheaval that has recently engulfed Liverpool. That goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota clear on that poignant opening night against Bournemouth. The impact of his loss can neither be assessed nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he