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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the main part in recent days with two goals in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man claiming the spotlight yet again. The Merseyside club need him to stay there.

Factors for Unsteady Showings

We see numerous reasons why variable, unimpressive performances have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their league defense, if they produced a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, a losing run. The upheaval from so many new signings, Arne Slot's hunt for his best XI, the late forward's loss; Salah has endured the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued start to the season.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the impetus for the source of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with another unexpected problem, however, if he remain caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Recent Form

The team's manager must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Drilled immediately with the outside of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an almost identical position to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been scored moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the league. Inquests into Salah's drop and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's wait persists while the coach fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as he emphasized on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in propelling the side towards a historic 20th championship the prior campaign while uncertainty over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a obvious drop-off on an individual and team level since. The team, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to 5, leading to a significant fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With twelve chances created, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last term, his stats are among the best in the continent and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Collective Performance

Indicators of collective output will trouble Slot more. He had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of last season. This term's total is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's issues as a whole. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their percentage from distance among the top. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the weakest in the league.

During the initial phase of last season we mostly scored from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Now we lack as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from live action creates the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't hurting foes in the fashion Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool are the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the century of points in less games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side remain a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to sparking and chasing any rival for the title, but unity is absent. That can not be pinned on the new signings by themselves.

Individual and Team Issues

Salah is not the only established member to experience a decline, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the core of the upheaval that has of late engulfed Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Diogo Jota clear on that heartfelt first game against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he