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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the starring role recently with a brace in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The main man stepping on the limelight another time. Liverpool must have him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Displays

We see many causes why variable, unconvincing displays have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their league defense, whether they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his best XI, the late forward's passing; Salah has endured the consequences of them all during his unusually subdued opening to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's key fixture could offer the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 scores in 17 outings for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not won at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will create the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he continue lost in the upheaval for an extended period.

Latest Display

The team's manager must have seen the contrast of Salah's opening strike against Djibouti recently. Swept directly with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an nearly the same spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that attempt been scored shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden superb assist in the English top flight. Analyses into Salah's dip and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's wait persists while Slot stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship the prior campaign while doubt over his future rumbled in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in April. We have seen a clear decrease on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Drop

His production in terms of goals and setups is down 50% on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of attempts has dropped from 22 to 12 while shots on target have dropped from 15 to five, causing a significant drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his creativity. With 12 opportunities made, versus fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his figures are among the finest in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Indicators of collective output will worry the coach further. He had 76 contacts in the opposition box in the first seven league games of the previous term. This season's count is thirty-nine. The stats are indicative of the team's problems as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have attempted more shots on goal than them now, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the top. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we primarily scored from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play generates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing rivals in the fashion Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were acquired recently, although Liverpool are the division's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any boss in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side remain a squad of outstanding individual quality, capable of starting and catching any rival for the title, but synergy is missing. This cannot be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Individual and Collective Issues

The player is not the only senior member to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender toiling. But he is at the center of the turmoil that has of late enveloped the club. That applies to a individual level, with his sorrow over the loss of Jota clear on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The influence of his death can not be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he