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It's been a period, but Liverpool's forward was back playing the lead part in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The key player stepping on center stage yet again. The Reds require him to stay there.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

We see numerous reasons why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's beginning to their league defense, if they produced a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his atypically low-key opening to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the origin of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose the manager with another unexpected problem, though, should he continue lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Current Performance

Liverpool's head coach must have noticed the paradox of Salah's first goal against the opponent recently. Drilled first time with the outside of his left foot into the near post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualifying effort came from an almost identical spot to his expensive error against Chelsea before the international break.

If that shot with his right been scored shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating the new signing's first superb assist in the English top flight. Analyses into his dip and the team's unusual losing streak might also have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's wait continues while the coach broods over a third defeat away, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was key in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown last season while doubt over his career lingered in the background. “We brought almost the best out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an individual and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are to blame.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is down half on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a combined 8 in the initial seven matches of last season to four (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His number of attempts has fallen from 22 to twelve while accurate shots have declined from 15 to five, causing a steep drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's playmaking. With twelve key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last campaign, his numbers stay among the top in the continent and up in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and 13 years each.

Team Performance

Metrics of collective display will worry the coach more. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven matches of the previous term. This term's count is 39. The stats are indicative of the squad's issues in general. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's percentage of shots from inside the six-yard area is the poorest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the greatest. Liverpool's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we mainly found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating foes in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board this summer, though the team stay the league's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it clicks. The side remain a team of exceptional individual quality, capable of sparking and chasing any foe for the title, but synergy is lacking. This cannot be pinned on the new signings alone.

Individual and Team Problems

The player is not the sole key member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to match sharpness and the defender laboring. But he is at the heart of the upheaval that has recently engulfed Liverpool. That extends to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the death of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's tragedy can neither be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he