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It has been some time, but the Egyptian star was back playing the main part last week with a brace in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's spot at the global tournament. The star stepping on center stage yet again. The Reds require him to stay there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Showings

There exist numerous factors why unsteady, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern running through the team's beginning to their league defense, whether they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The upheaval from numerous new signings, Arne Slot's quest for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's loss; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued start to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's big match could offer the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will create Slot with a further unforeseen dilemma, however, if he stay lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Latest Form

The team's head coach likely seen the irony of the player's first goal against the opponent recently. Swept immediately with the exterior of his left foot into the near post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an almost identical location to his big mistake versus Chelsea prior to the international break.

If that attempt been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime assist in the English top flight. Inquests into Salah's decline and the team's unusual defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach broods over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by late goals and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in pushing the side towards a historic 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his career persisted in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a obvious decrease on an personal and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the same stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the initial seven league games of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. The count of shots has dropped from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have declined from fifteen to five, causing a steep fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is Salah's playmaking. With 12 key passes, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his figures stay among the top in the continent and up in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of collective performance will trouble Slot further. Salah had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the opening seven league games of the prior campaign. This term's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's problems in general. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their share from outside the area among the top. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Currently we lack as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not punishing opponents in the way Slot envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, although the team remain the division's third-best goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in the club's history (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it clicks. The side remain a team of supreme talent, able to starting and chasing any foe for the championship, but unity is missing. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only senior member to experience a decline, with the midfielder returning to form and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has lately enveloped Liverpool. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his tragedy can not be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he