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It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward reappeared taking on the starring role last week with a double in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's spot at the global tournament. The star stepping on the limelight another time. The Reds require him to remain there.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

There exist several reasons why inconsistent, lackluster displays have been the frequent pattern characterizing Liverpool's start to their championship defense, whether they produced a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from so many offseason moves, the coach's quest for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually quiet start to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could deliver the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for almost a decade. Salah will create Slot with an additional surprise issue, however, should he continue caught in the upheaval much longer.

Recent Form

The team's manager must have noticed the irony of the player's opening strike against Djibouti recently. Swept immediately with the outside of his left foot into the front post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error versus Chelsea prior to the international break.

If that right-foot effort been converted moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime setup in the league. Discussions into his dip and Liverpool's unusual losing run might also have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach broods over a third loss on the road, two due to last-minute winners and another the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was crucial in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th crown the previous term while speculation over his future lingered in the background. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a obvious drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Performance Decrease

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 8 in the opening seven league games of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from fifteen to 5, causing a sharp drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his creativity. With 12 opportunities made, against 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his numbers remain among the finest in Europe and up in the group of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Output

Metrics of team output will worry Slot more. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven matches of last season. This term's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the team's issues in general. Just United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's percentage of shots from inside the goal area is the smallest in the division, their percentage from outside the area among the top. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“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 more from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play creates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating foes in the way the coach planned when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while the team stay the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (46). Think what his offense will do when it clicks. The side are still a squad of exceptional skill, equipped to sparking and chasing any rival for the championship, but synergy is lacking. This can not be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only established member to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the heart of the turmoil that has of late engulfed the club. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional season opener against Bournemouth. The influence of his tragedy can neither be quantified nor overlooked.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he