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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned playing the starring role recently with a brace in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The star taking the limelight yet again. Liverpool must have him to stay there.

Reasons for Variable Performances

There exist several factors why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the frequent pattern running through the team's opening to their title defence, whether they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from numerous new signings, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's key fixture could offer the impetus for the source of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will pose the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he remain caught in the upheaval much longer.

Recent Display

The team's head coach likely recognized the contrast of the player's initial score against Djibouti recently. Drilled immediately with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, his eighth goal of the national team's qualification run was from an almost identical position to his big mistake versus Chelsea prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been finished moments after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising the new signing's maiden superb assist in the league. Analyses into Salah's drop and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was crucial in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while doubt over his long-term plans lingered in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a noticeable drop-off on an individual and collective level from then. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is down half on the same stage the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (two goals and two assists) this season. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from fifteen to five, contributing to a sharp fall in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With 12 chances created, versus fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his figures stay among the top in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Performance

Measures of team performance will worry Slot further. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the first seven matches of the previous term. This season's total is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the team's issues overall. Only United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than them now, but the team's rate of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their ratio from long range among the greatest. The club's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a special moment from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “Currently we lack as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play creates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They aren't hurting opponents in the fashion Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired this summer, although Liverpool stay the league's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to reach the century of points in less games than any coach in Liverpool's past (46). Consider what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional skill, equipped to starting and chasing any opponent for the title, but unity is missing. That cannot be blamed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Problems

Salah is not the sole established player to suffer a drop-off, with the midfielder working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he is at the center of the turmoil that has of late engulfed Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with his sorrow over the passing of Diogo Jota obvious on that heartfelt season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he