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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the lead part recently with two goals in Morocco that sealed Egypt's spot at the global tournament. The star taking the spotlight yet again. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Performances

There are several factors why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the common thread defining the team's opening to their league defense, whether they recorded a winning streak or, before Manchester United's visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many offseason moves, the coach's search for his best XI, the late forward's loss; Salah has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's big match could deliver the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for almost a decade. Salah will pose Slot with a further surprise issue, though, should he stay lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Recent Display

Liverpool's manager must have noticed the paradox of the player's first goal against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck immediately with the outside of his stronger foot into the near post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an very similar location to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

Had that shot with his right been finished shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the Premier League. Analyses into his decline and the team's unusual losing run might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's search goes on while the coach fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, two caused by last-minute winners and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his future rumbled in the background. “We brought almost the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a clear decrease on an individual and team level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Decline

His output in terms of goals and assists is reduced 50% on the same point the previous term, from a total eight in the initial seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. His number of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from fifteen to 5, causing a sharp decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his creativity. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his stats stay among the best in the continent and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Performance

Measures of team output will concern the coach more. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven matches of the prior campaign. This term's tally is 39. The numbers are symptomatic of the team's issues in general. Just United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the Premier League, their ratio from distance among the highest. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play generates the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing opponents in the fashion Slot planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool remain the division's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's history (46). Consider what his offense will do when it does settle. The side are still a squad of supreme talent, equipped to igniting and reeling in any rival for the title, but unity is absent. This can not be attributed on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only senior member to suffer a decline, with the midfielder returning to fitness and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the center of the disruption that has lately engulfed Liverpool. That applies to a individual level, with his grief over the passing of Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The impact of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he