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It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward returned playing the main part recently with two goals in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The key player stepping on the limelight once more. Liverpool must have him to keep that position.

Causes for Inconsistent Performances

There exist numerous causes why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their title defence, if they recorded seven straight victories or, before the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on Sunday, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple new signings, the coach's hunt for his top team, the late forward's passing; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet start to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's big match could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, yet, should he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Recent Display

Liverpool's head coach must have recognized the paradox of Salah's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Swept directly with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's qualification run came from an almost identical spot to his costly miss against Chelsea before the international break.

If that shot with his right been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his decline and the team's rare defeat streak might as well have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot fumes over a third consecutive away defeat, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the result of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was instrumental in driving the side towards a tying 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

His contribution in terms of goals and setups is reduced 50% on the corresponding point the previous term, from a total eight in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His tally of shots has dropped from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have fallen from 15 to five, leading to a sharp decline in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, against 14 at the comparable period of last campaign, his numbers stay among the best in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Output

Metrics of collective display will worry Slot additionally. Salah had 76 contacts in the opposition box in the first seven matches of last season. This term's tally is 39. These figures are indicative of the squad's problems in general. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have tried more attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's rate of shots from within the six-yard box is the smallest in the division, their ratio from long range among the highest. The club's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we lack as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play produces the most quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing opponents in the way Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, although the team are the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to attain the 100-point total in less games than any boss in the club's past (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it clicks. The side are still a team of exceptional skill, capable of starting and catching any foe for the championship, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be blamed on the new signings by themselves.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the sole senior player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has recently engulfed Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with his sadness over the loss of Jota evident on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his tragedy can neither be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he