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It's been a while, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the starring role in recent days with two goals in Morocco that secured Egypt's position at the global tournament. The key player taking center stage another time. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Factors for Variable Showings

We see several factors why inconsistent, unimpressive showings have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's start to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many offseason moves, the coach's search for his top team, the late forward's loss; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the spark for the origin of a impressive 16 scores in 17 games for the club against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will present Slot with an additional surprise issue, yet, should he continue caught in the disruption for an extended period.

Current Performance

The team's boss must have seen the paradox of the player's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Swept first time with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's qualifying effort originated from an nearly the same location to his big mistake against Chelsea before the international break.

If that shot with his right been scored shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first superb setup in the league. Inquests into his dip and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might also have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's search continues while the coach fumes over a third defeat away, two due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown last season while doubt over his career lingered in the background. We extracted nearly the best out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in April. We have seen a obvious drop-off on an individual and team level from then. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the same stage the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (two goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to 5, causing a sharp fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his creativity. With twelve chances created, against 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his stats remain among the finest in Europe and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Performance

Indicators of collective output will concern the coach more. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's total is thirty-nine. The stats are reflective of the team's issues overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than them now, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the lowest in the top flight, their share from distance among the greatest. The club's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play creates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating rivals in the fashion the coach planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while the team stay the league's equal third-top scorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for Slot to attain the 100-point total in less games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side are still a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but synergy is lacking. This can not be attributed on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole established player to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has lately affected Liverpool. This applies to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the death of Jota clear on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's loss can not be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he