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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the starring role recently with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's place at the upcoming World Cup. The star stepping on center stage yet again. The Reds must have him to keep that position.

Reasons for Variable Displays

There are several causes why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme running through the team's opening to their title defence, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The turmoil from so many offseason moves, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's loss; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued beginning to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could deliver the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will create Slot with another unexpected problem, yet, should he stay lost in the turmoil much longer.

Recent Display

Liverpool's head coach must have noticed the contrast of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck directly with the outside of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an almost identical position to his expensive error versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that right-foot effort been converted shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the Premier League. Discussions into Salah's dip and the team's infrequent losing streak might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's wait continues while the coach stews over a third loss on the road, two caused by late goals and another the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was instrumental in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown last season while uncertainty over his future lingered in the background. “We brought almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. We have seen a clear drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are to blame.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is down half on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the first seven fixtures of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) this season. His tally of shots has dropped from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from 15 to 5, contributing to a significant fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his chance creation. With 12 opportunities made, versus 14 at the comparable period of last term, his figures stay among the best in Europe and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective display will worry the coach more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition box in the opening seven matches of the prior campaign. This term's count is 39. The stats are indicative of the squad's problems in general. Only United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's rate of attempts from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the division, their percentage from distance among the highest. The club's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Currently we lack as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play produces the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not hurting opponents in the way the coach imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's past (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it does settle. The side remain a squad of supreme skill, able to starting and reeling in any rival for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. That can not be pinned on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Team Issues

Salah is not the only established player to suffer a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to match sharpness and the defender laboring. But he ends up at the core of the disruption that has of late enveloped Liverpool. That goes to a individual level, with his sorrow over the death of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he