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It has been a period, but the Egyptian star was back playing the starring role in recent days with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking center stage another time. The Merseyside club require him to keep that position.

Causes for Inconsistent Showings

We see several causes why unsteady, unimpressive showings have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's beginning to their league defense, whether they recorded a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's visit to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his atypically subdued beginning to the season.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's key fixture could provide the impetus for the origin of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will create the manager with another surprise issue, however, should he continue caught in the upheaval for an extended period.

Current Performance

Liverpool's boss likely seen the irony of the player's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled directly with the exterior of his left foot into the near post, his eighth goal of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical position to his big mistake against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

If that right-foot effort been scored moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's first sublime assist in the Premier League. Discussions into Salah's dip and Liverpool's unusual losing run might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple caused by late goals and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on Friday, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was crucial in propelling Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship the previous term while uncertainty over his future rumbled in the backdrop. We extracted almost the utmost out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear drop-off on an individual and team level since. The team, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a combined eight in the opening seven matches of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to 5, contributing to a significant drop in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With 12 chances created, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his figures remain among the top in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Output

Metrics of collective performance will trouble the coach additionally. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This term's count is 39. These figures are reflective of the team's issues as a whole. Only United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from within the goal area is the lowest in the Premier League, their share from long range among the greatest. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season 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. “This season we haven’t had as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from live action produces the most quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating foes in the way Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired recently, though Liverpool remain the division's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to attain the 100-point total in less games than any manager in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to sparking and chasing any rival for the title, but synergy is lacking. This can not be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole senior player to experience a decline, with the midfielder regaining to match sharpness and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has of late affected the club. This applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the death of Jota evident on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's tragedy can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Strategic Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he