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It has been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back assuming the main part last week with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The star taking the limelight yet again. The Reds need him to remain there.

Reasons for Unsteady Showings

There are many reasons why unsteady, lackluster displays have been the frequent pattern characterizing the team's start to their title defence, whether they recorded a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The turmoil from numerous new signings, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has experienced the effect of them all during his unusually low-key start to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose the manager with an additional unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he remain lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Recent Form

The team's head coach must have recognized the paradox of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck directly with the outside of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical spot to his expensive error versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that right-foot effort been scored moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime setup in the Premier League. Discussions into his dip and Liverpool's unusual losing run might as well have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search persists while Slot fumes over a third defeat away, two inflicted by late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship last season while speculation over his future rumbled in the background. “We brought almost the maximum out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a obvious decline on an personal and team level from then. The team, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and assists is lower half on the corresponding point the previous term, from a combined eight in the initial seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His number of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, contributing to a sharp drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, data show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With twelve chances created, versus fourteen at the comparable period of last term, his figures are among the finest in Europe and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Indicators of team performance will worry the coach further. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the first seven league games of the previous term. This term's count is 39. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's problems overall. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of attempts on goal than them this season, but the team's rate of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the smallest in the top flight, their share from long range among the greatest. The club's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we lack as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from general play creates the most expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not hurting rivals in the way the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed in the offseason, though Liverpool stay the league's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in less games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his offense will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a squad of exceptional skill, equipped to sparking and catching any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is absent. This cannot be attributed on the new signings only.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the sole key member to experience a decline, with the midfielder returning to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has of late engulfed the club. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional season opener against the Cherries. The impact of his tragedy can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Tactical Adjustments

In the prior campaign, he