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It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the main part last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's position at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the limelight once more. The Merseyside club need him to remain there.

Factors for Variable Performances

There exist several reasons why variable, unimpressive performances have been the frequent pattern running through the team's start to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has endured the consequences of them all during his atypically quiet opening to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 goals in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their archrivals for over nine years. Salah will pose Slot with another unexpected problem, however, if he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Performance

The team's head coach must have noticed the paradox of the player's initial score against the opponent recently. Swept directly with the exterior of his stronger foot into the front post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an almost identical spot to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

Had 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 sublime assist in the league. Analyses into his decline and Liverpool's unusual losing streak might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was crucial in driving Liverpool towards a tying 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his future rumbled in the background. We extracted nearly the best out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in April. There has been a noticeable decline on an personal and team level since. The team, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Drop

His output in terms of scores and assists is reduced half on the corresponding point the previous term, from a total 8 in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have dropped from 15 to five, contributing to a steep drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, data show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his creativity. With twelve opportunities made, against 14 at the same stage of the previous season, his numbers stay among the finest in the continent and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Display

Indicators of team performance will trouble Slot additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven league games of the previous term. This term's total is thirty-nine. These figures are symptomatic of the team's issues overall. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the lowest in the top flight, their percentage from long range among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

During the initial phase of last season we mainly found the net from a moment of magic from a forward and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Currently we have not seen as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play generates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing rivals in the way Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, though the team are the division's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it does settle. The side are still a team of supreme talent, capable of igniting and chasing any foe for the championship, but synergy is lacking. This can not be pinned on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the only senior member to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has of late affected Liverpool. That applies to a personal level, with his sorrow over the loss of Diogo Jota evident on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's death can neither be quantified nor dismissed.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he