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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah was back assuming the starring role in recent days with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The key player claiming the limelight another time. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Causes for Inconsistent Showings

We see many reasons why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's start to their title defence, if they produced seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could provide the impetus for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose Slot with an additional unexpected problem, though, should he continue caught in the turmoil much longer.

Latest Form

The team's boss likely noticed the irony of Salah's opening strike against Djibouti in midweek. Struck directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical position to his expensive error against Chelsea before the national team pause.

Had that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising the new signing's first excellent pass in the league. Discussions into Salah's decline and Liverpool's infrequent losing streak might as well have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while the coach stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he emphasized on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was key in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th crown the prior campaign while doubt over his career lingered in the background. We extracted almost the maximum out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a clear drop-off on an personal and team level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a combined eight in the initial seven fixtures of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of attempts has dropped from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to 5, contributing to a steep fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is his chance creation. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his numbers are among the top in Europe and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Collective Output

Indicators of collective performance will trouble Slot more. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This term's total is 39. The stats are reflective of the squad's problems in general. Only Manchester United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's percentage of shots from within the six-yard box is the smallest in the Premier League, their share from long range among the highest. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was more from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from general play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not hurting opponents in the fashion the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed recently, while the team are the league's third-best goalscorers. A tie on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in less games than any coach in Liverpool's past (46). Imagine what his forward line will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a squad of exceptional talent, equipped to sparking and catching any opponent for the title, but synergy is absent. This cannot be blamed on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the sole key member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has of late enveloped the club. This goes to a personal level, with his grief over the death of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's loss can not be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

Last season, he