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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star returned playing the lead part recently with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The main man stepping on the spotlight another time. Liverpool must have him to keep that position.

Factors for Unsteady Showings

There exist many causes why unsteady, lackluster performances have been the recurring theme running through the team's beginning to their title defence, whether they achieved seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from so many new signings, the coach's search for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the catalyst for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will create Slot with another unexpected problem, yet, if he continue lost in the disruption for an extended period.

Latest Form

The team's boss must have recognized the irony of the player's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Struck directly with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, his eighth goal of the national team's qualification run was from an nearly the same location to his expensive error versus Chelsea prior to the international break.

If that attempt been converted moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his dip and the team's infrequent defeat streak might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as he emphasized on recently, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Last Season's Contribution

Salah was key in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while speculation over his future persisted in the background. We extracted almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a obvious decline on an personal and collective level since. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and setups is lower 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the opening seven fixtures of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has dropped from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have fallen from 15 to five, contributing to a steep decline in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, versus fourteen at the comparable period of last term, his figures remain among the top in Europe and comparable in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Display

Measures of team performance will worry Slot more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of the prior campaign. This season's count is 39. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties in general. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have taken more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of shots from inside the goal area is the smallest in the top flight, their share from long range among the greatest. The club's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the league.

During the initial phase of last season we mainly scored from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play generates the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating opponents in the manner Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, while Liverpool are the division's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it finally gels. The side remain a squad of supreme skill, able to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. That can not be blamed on the new signings alone.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only senior member to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has of late affected Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his death can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

Previously, he