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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned playing the main part recently with a double in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The key player stepping on the spotlight once more. Liverpool need him to remain there.

Factors for Unsteady Performances

We see numerous factors why variable, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern characterizing the team's beginning to their title defence, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple new signings, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's loss; Salah has experienced the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. The attacker will create Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, though, if he remain caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Form

Liverpool's head coach must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Struck first time with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an nearly the same location to his expensive error versus Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that attempt been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the league. Discussions into Salah's dip and the team's rare defeat streak might also have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's search continues while the coach broods over a third away defeat, a couple due to last-minute winners and one the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was key in driving Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship the previous term while uncertainty over his long-term plans lingered in the backdrop. We achieved nearly the best out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed an extension in April. We have seen a noticeable decline on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the first seven fixtures of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, causing a sharp decline in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his stats remain among the best in the continent and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective output will concern the coach further. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the first seven fixtures of the previous term. This season's count is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the team's issues overall. Just United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than them in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the division, their percentage from long range among the greatest. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the weakest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we lack as numerous acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from live action generates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't hurting foes in the fashion the coach planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, although the team remain the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in less games than any manager in Liverpool's history (46). Imagine what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side remain a team of supreme skill, equipped to igniting and reeling in any foe for the championship, but cohesion is absent. This cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Team Problems

Salah is not the sole established player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has of late enveloped Liverpool. This applies to a individual level, with his grief over the loss of Jota evident on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The impact of his loss can not be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he