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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah returned playing the lead part last week with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The key player stepping on the limelight yet again. Liverpool need him to stay there.

Factors for Inconsistent Displays

There exist numerous causes why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the common thread defining Liverpool's beginning to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple new signings, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's loss; the winger has experienced the impact of them all during his unusually subdued opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 outings for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th visit to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with another unexpected problem, yet, should he stay lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Recent Performance

Liverpool's manager must have recognized the paradox of Salah's opening strike against Djibouti in midweek. Swept directly with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an very similar position to his costly miss against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first superb pass in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's dip and the team's infrequent losing run might as well have been delayed. Rather, Wirtz's wait goes on while the coach broods over a third away defeat, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was key in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his career rumbled in the background. We achieved almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in April. We have seen a noticeable decline on an individual and collective level from then. The team, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is down 50% on the same point last season, from a total 8 in the opening seven league games of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of attempts has fallen from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from fifteen to 5, leading to a significant decline in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is Salah's chance creation. With 12 key passes, versus fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his stats stay among the finest in Europe and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of team performance will worry Slot additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's count is 39. The numbers are reflective of the team's difficulties in general. Just United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them now, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from within the goal area is the lowest in the division, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from a special moment from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from live action creates the most quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They aren't punishing foes in the fashion Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed recently, although Liverpool stay the division's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any boss in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool remain a squad of outstanding individual quality, able to sparking and catching any foe for the title, but cohesion is missing. This can not be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only key member to suffer a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the upheaval that has recently enveloped Liverpool. That extends to a personal level, with his grief over the loss of Jota clear on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's death can not be quantified nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he