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It's been a while, but Liverpool's forward returned assuming the starring role last week with a double in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The main man taking the limelight yet again. The Reds must have him to remain there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Displays

There exist many causes why variable, unimpressive displays have been the common thread characterizing Liverpool's beginning to their title defence, if they produced a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's loss; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his unusually subdued beginning to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's big match could deliver the catalyst for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will create Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, though, should he continue caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Form

The team's manager likely recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent recently. Drilled directly with the outside of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth goal of the national team's qualification run was from an almost identical location to his big mistake against Chelsea before the break for internationals.

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 first sublime pass in the Premier League. Discussions into his drop and Liverpool's rare defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot broods over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by last-minute winners and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the prior campaign while uncertainty over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the maximum out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a obvious drop-off on an personal and team level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Decline

His output in terms of goals and assists is down 50% on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from fifteen to five, causing a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, compared with fourteen at the same stage of last term, his figures stay among the top in the continent and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Output

Indicators of team performance will trouble the coach additionally. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the first seven fixtures of last season. This term's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the team's problems overall. Only United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than them now, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the division, their percentage from distance among the top. The club's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we mostly found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “Now we lack as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from general play produces the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating foes in the way Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, although Liverpool stay the league's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point total in less games than any boss in the club's history (46). Think what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional individual quality, capable of igniting and chasing any foe for the title, but synergy is lacking. That can not be attributed on the new signings alone.

Personal and Team Problems

The player is not the sole senior member to experience a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has of late affected Liverpool. This extends to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the passing of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional first game against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's tragedy can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he