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It's been a while, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the starring role recently with a brace in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The main man stepping on the limelight yet again. Liverpool need him to remain there.

Factors for Unsteady Performances

There are numerous factors why inconsistent, lackluster performances have been the recurring theme defining Liverpool's opening to their title defence, if they achieved a winning streak or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from numerous summer changes, the coach's hunt for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key start to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the source of a impressive 16 scores in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will pose Slot with an additional surprise issue, however, should he remain caught in the upheaval for an extended period.

Recent Performance

The team's boss must have noticed the contrast of Salah's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Drilled directly with the outside of his stronger foot inside the front post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's qualifying effort came from an almost identical location to his big mistake versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that attempt been converted shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first excellent pass in the league. Analyses into his drop and Liverpool's rare losing run might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach stews over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple caused by last-minute winners and one the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was instrumental in driving the side towards a historic 20th championship last season while doubt over his career rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the utmost out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a clear decrease on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is down half on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the first seven league games of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His number of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while shots on target have dropped from 15 to 5, causing a sharp drop in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his creativity. With 12 opportunities made, versus 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his numbers remain among the finest in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Output

Measures of collective performance will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had 76 contacts in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven matches of the prior campaign. This season's count is thirty-nine. These figures are reflective of the squad's issues in general. Just United and Arsenal have tried more shots on goal than them now, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their percentage from long range among the greatest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play produces the highest xG chances.”

New Signings

They aren't hurting foes in the fashion the coach planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while the team are the league's equal third-top scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point mark in less games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding talent, capable of igniting and catching any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is absent. This can not be blamed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Team Problems

Salah is not the sole established player to experience a dip, with the midfielder regaining to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the center of the turmoil that has of late enveloped the club. That applies to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the death of Jota obvious on that heartfelt first game against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's death can not be measured nor ignored.

Strategic Adjustments

Previously, he