🔗 Share this article

It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the main part recently with two goals in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's place at the 2026 World Cup. The star stepping on the spotlight another time. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

There are many factors why unsteady, lackluster showings have been the common thread running through the team's start to their league defense, whether they achieved a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The disruption from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's search for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually low-key opening to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's big match could provide the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for over nine years. The attacker will create the manager with another unforeseen dilemma, though, should he remain lost in the disruption for an extended period.

Latest Display

Liverpool's head coach likely recognized the paradox of Salah's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Swept first time with the exterior of his left foot into the near post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an very similar position to his costly miss against Chelsea prior to the international break.

Had that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb pass in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's drop and the team's infrequent losing streak might as well have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's search continues while Slot broods over a third defeat away, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as he repeated on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was instrumental in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the prior campaign while speculation over his long-term plans lingered in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the utmost out of Mo that campaign,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decline on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and setups is lower 50% on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and two assists) this season. His number of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have declined from fifteen to 5, causing a steep fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his playmaking. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the comparable period of last campaign, his figures are among the finest in the continent and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Collective Performance

Measures of team performance will worry the coach additionally. He had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven league games of last season. This season's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the team's difficulties overall. Only United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's percentage of shots from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the top flight, their ratio from long range among the top. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” the manager said. “Currently we have not seen as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, although the team stay the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for Slot to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of exceptional skill, equipped to sparking and reeling in any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. This cannot be blamed on the new signings alone.

Personal and Team Challenges

The player is not the sole established player to experience a dip, with the midfielder regaining to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he finds himself at the core of the upheaval that has lately enveloped the club. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota evident on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can neither be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Adjustments

Last season, he