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It's been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back playing the lead part last week with a brace in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The key player taking the spotlight once more. Liverpool must have him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Displays

There exist several reasons why inconsistent, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme defining the team's beginning to their championship defense, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, prior to the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from numerous new signings, the coach's hunt for his best XI, the late forward's passing; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically subdued beginning to the season.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's big match could provide the impetus for the source of a impressive 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, though, should he continue caught in the upheaval for an extended period.

Latest Performance

Liverpool's manager likely recognized the irony of Salah's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Swept immediately with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that attempt been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden superb setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his drop and Liverpool's rare losing streak might also have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's search goes on while Slot fumes over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he emphasized on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was key in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th league title the previous term while doubt over his career lingered in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the utmost out of Mo that campaign,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a noticeable drop-off on an personal and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

His output in terms of scores and assists is reduced half on the same point last season, from a total eight in the initial seven matches of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to five, leading to a steep fall in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A single trait that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve key passes, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his figures are among the top in the continent and comparable in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years each.

Team Display

Measures of team output will trouble Slot additionally. Salah had 76 contacts in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven league games of the prior campaign. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. These figures are symptomatic of the team's difficulties as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have tried more shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from within the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – 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 a forward and in the later stage it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play generates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating foes in the fashion the coach imagined when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed in the offseason, although the team stay the division's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (46). Imagine what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a team of supreme skill, able to igniting and chasing any rival for the title, but synergy is missing. This can not be blamed on the summer recruits only.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole established member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and the defender laboring. But he is at the heart of the turmoil that has of late engulfed the club. That applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the loss of Jota evident on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's loss can neither be quantified nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he