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It has been some time, but the Egyptian star was back playing the starring role recently with two goals in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The key player stepping on the spotlight once more. The Reds must have him to remain there.

Factors for Inconsistent Showings

There exist several causes why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the frequent pattern defining the team's opening to their title defence, if they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from numerous new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, the late forward's passing; the winger has endured the effect of them all during his unusually low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's key fixture could provide the spark for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 games for the club against United, who are making their 100th visit to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will present Slot with an additional surprise issue, though, if he stay lost in the disruption for an extended period.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the contrast of Salah's opening strike against the opponent recently. Drilled first time with the outside of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an nearly the same position to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the break for internationals.

If that shot with his right been scored shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising the new signing's first superb setup in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's decline and Liverpool's unusual losing streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait persists while Slot stews over a third away defeat, two due to late goals and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th crown the previous term while speculation over his career persisted in the background. “We brought almost the utmost out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an individual and team level since. The squad, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is down half on the corresponding point last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven matches of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have fallen from 15 to 5, causing a steep drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's chance creation. With 12 chances created, against 14 at the comparable period of last term, his stats are among the finest in the continent and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Team Performance

Indicators of team display will concern the coach further. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven matches of the previous term. The current campaign's count is thirty-nine. These figures are reflective of the squad's difficulties in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have tried more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of shots from within the goal area is the lowest in the top flight, their percentage from distance among the greatest. The club's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Now we lack as numerous acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating rivals in the way Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board recently, though the team remain the division's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the century of points in fewer games than any manager in the club's past (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding talent, equipped to sparking and catching any foe for the championship, but synergy is missing. This can not be attributed on the new signings only.

Individual and Collective Issues

The player is not the only key player to suffer a dip, with the midfielder working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the center of the disruption that has recently affected Liverpool. This goes to a personal level, with his grief over the loss of Diogo Jota obvious on that heartfelt opening night against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's death can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

Previously, he