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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star returned taking on the starring role in recent days with two goals in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the upcoming World Cup. The star stepping on the spotlight once more. Liverpool require him to stay there.

Causes for Variable Displays

We see several reasons why inconsistent, lackluster performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's beginning to their championship defense, if they produced seven straight victories or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, a losing run. The disruption from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his unusually low-key opening to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's key fixture could offer the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th visit to the stadium and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, yet, if he remain caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Recent Form

The team's boss must have recognized the paradox of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck first time with the outside of his left foot into the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run was from an nearly the same position to his costly miss versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden excellent assist in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's decline and the team's infrequent losing streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's wait continues while Slot fumes over a third consecutive away defeat, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as he repeated on recently, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was key in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his career lingered in the background. We extracted nearly the best out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a noticeable decline on an individual and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Decline

His contribution in terms of goals and setups is down half on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a total 8 in the initial seven matches of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to twelve while shots on target have dropped from 15 to five, causing a significant decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With 12 chances created, versus 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his numbers are among the finest in Europe and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Measures of team performance will trouble the coach more. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven league games of last season. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the team's difficulties overall. Just United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the division, their ratio from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well 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 set piece,” the manager said. “Currently we have not seen as numerous acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from open play produces the most xG chances.”

New Signings

They aren't punishing foes in the fashion Slot planned when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board recently, although Liverpool stay the league's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Think what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side remain a team of outstanding talent, able to starting and reeling in any opponent for the title, but synergy is missing. This cannot be attributed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only key member to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the core of the disruption that has recently affected Liverpool. That applies to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his loss can neither be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he