🔗 Share this article

It has been a while, but Liverpool's forward returned playing the lead part last week with a brace in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The main man taking center stage another time. Liverpool require him to stay there.

Reasons for Variable Displays

There are numerous reasons why inconsistent, unimpressive displays have been the common thread running through the team's start to their championship defense, if they achieved a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' arrival to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The upheaval from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the consequences of them all during his unusually low-key start to the term.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's big match could deliver the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose the manager with an additional unforeseen dilemma, though, if he continue lost in the disruption much longer.

Recent Display

Liverpool's boss must have noticed the contrast of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck immediately with the outside of his left foot inside the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run originated from an nearly the same spot to his costly miss 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 superb assist in the league. Inquests into his dip and the team's rare losing run might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, two caused by last-minute winners and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was key in pushing the side towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the best out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in April. There has been a clear drop-off on an personal and team level from then. The squad, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the same stage last season, from a total eight in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His number of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to five, leading to a significant decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's creativity. With twelve chances created, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his numbers stay among the top in the continent and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Team Output

Indicators of team display will concern the coach more. He had 76 contacts in the opposition penalty area in the first seven league games of last season. This term's total is 39. These figures are reflective of the team's problems as a whole. Only United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than them in the current term, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the Premier League, their percentage from distance among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action produces the highest quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating opponents in the way Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired this summer, while Liverpool stay the division's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in the club's past (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side are still a team of supreme skill, capable of starting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is absent. This cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Team Issues

The player is not the only key player to suffer a dip, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender laboring. But he is at the core of the disruption that has lately enveloped the club. That applies to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the death of Jota clear on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's tragedy can not be measured nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

Previously, he