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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the starring role in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The star claiming center stage yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Factors for Unsteady Performances

We see many reasons why unsteady, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern defining the team's beginning to their title defence, if they recorded a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, the late forward's loss; the winger has felt the effect of them all during his unusually subdued beginning to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the origin of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will pose Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, however, should he continue lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Recent Form

The team's head coach must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against Djibouti in midweek. Struck first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an very similar position to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's maiden sublime setup in the Premier League. Discussions into Salah's dip and the team's unusual defeat streak might as well have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach fumes over a third away defeat, two caused by late goals and another the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was instrumental in driving the side towards a historic 20th league title the previous term while doubt over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. We extracted almost the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said Slot when his main attacker signed an extension in April. We have seen a noticeable decline on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is down 50% on the corresponding point last season, from a total 8 in the first seven matches of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have declined from 15 to 5, contributing to a steep fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

A single trait that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve chances created, versus 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his figures stay among the finest in the continent and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Output

Indicators of collective output will worry the coach further. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven league games of last season. The current campaign's total is 39. The numbers are reflective of the squad's problems as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them now, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the Premier League, their ratio from distance among the highest. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we lack as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play generates the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't punishing rivals in the manner the coach envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were brought on board recently, although the team stay the division's third-best scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to reach the 100-point total in fewer games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Imagine what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding talent, capable of sparking and catching any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. This can not be pinned on the new signings only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole senior member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the disruption that has of late enveloped Liverpool. This extends to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's death can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he