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It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward returned playing the lead part recently with a double in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man taking the spotlight yet again. The Merseyside club need him to stay there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Performances

There exist many reasons why variable, unconvincing displays have been the common thread running through the team's opening to their championship defense, whether they produced seven straight victories or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from so many new signings, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's loss; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his atypically subdued start to the season.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th visit to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will pose the manager with another unforeseen dilemma, though, should he remain lost in the turmoil for an extended period.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach likely recognized the paradox of the player's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Swept immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's qualification run came from an very similar spot to his big mistake in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been converted shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden superb assist in the league. Discussions into Salah's drop and Liverpool's rare losing streak might as well have been delayed. Rather, the midfielder's search persists while Slot fumes over a third away defeat, two due to last-minute winners and another the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he emphasized on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Contribution

Salah was key in driving the side towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the utmost out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in April. There has been a noticeable decrease on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and assists is reduced 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven league games of last season to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, causing a steep fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

One attribute that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his figures stay among the best in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Display

Indicators of team display will concern Slot further. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven matches of the prior campaign. The current campaign's total is thirty-nine. The stats are reflective of the team's problems as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than them this season, but the team's rate of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the division, their ratio from distance among the top. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly found the net from a special moment from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play generates the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating foes in the way Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, though Liverpool remain the division's third-best scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a squad of exceptional skill, able to starting and reeling in any opponent for the championship, but synergy is absent. This can not be attributed on the new signings only.

Individual and Team Challenges

Salah is not the sole key member to suffer a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has of late engulfed the club. This goes to a personal level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota clear on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his death can not be quantified nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he