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It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back taking on the main part in recent days with a double in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The star taking center stage yet again. The Reds require him to stay there.

Causes for Variable Performances

There are numerous reasons why unsteady, lackluster showings have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their title defence, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the impetus for the origin of a record 16 goals in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose the manager with another surprise issue, however, if he continue lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Performance

Liverpool's head coach must have seen the irony of the player's first goal against Djibouti recently. Swept first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error versus Chelsea prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating the new signing's maiden superb pass in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's drop and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot stews over a third away defeat, two due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he emphasized on recently, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was instrumental in driving the side towards a tying 20th league title last season while uncertainty over his career rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an personal and team level since. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

His contribution in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the corresponding point the previous term, from a combined eight in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and two assists) this season. His number of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have declined from fifteen to five, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With 12 opportunities made, compared with fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his stats are among the best in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Team Display

Measures of collective display will concern Slot additionally. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven matches of the prior campaign. This term's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are reflective of the team's problems overall. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's rate of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the lowest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the top. Liverpool's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from an individual brilliance from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from live action generates the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They aren't punishing rivals in the manner Slot imagined when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, though the team remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it clicks. The side remain a team of supreme skill, equipped to starting and reeling in any opponent for the championship, but unity is absent. That can not be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the sole established player to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has lately affected the club. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Diogo Jota evident on that poignant season opener against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's death can not be assessed nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

Last season, he