🔗 Share this article

It's been a period, but Liverpool's forward reappeared playing the main part in recent days with a brace in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man stepping on the spotlight another time. The Reds must have him to remain there.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There exist several factors why variable, lackluster showings have been the common thread defining the team's beginning to their league defense, if they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from numerous summer changes, Arne Slot's hunt for his best XI, the late forward's passing; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically subdued beginning to the term.

The Weekend's Big Match

The weekend's key fixture could offer the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their archrivals for more than nine years. The attacker will present Slot with an additional surprise issue, however, should he remain caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach likely recognized the irony of the player's opening strike against Djibouti recently. Struck directly with the outside of his left foot into the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an very similar spot to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising the new signing's first excellent assist in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's decline and the team's infrequent losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, Wirtz's wait goes on while the coach fumes over a third loss on the road, two inflicted by late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was key in driving Liverpool towards a historic 20th crown last season while uncertainty over his long-term plans rumbled in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a noticeable drop-off on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and assists is reduced half on the same stage the previous term, from a combined 8 in the opening seven fixtures of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has dropped from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to 5, contributing to a sharp fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With twelve opportunities made, versus 14 at the comparable period of last campaign, his figures remain among the top in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Team Performance

Metrics of team output will worry the coach more. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy box in the first seven league games of last season. The current campaign's total is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the team's difficulties as a whole. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have tried more attempts on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of shots from inside the six-yard area is the poorest in the Premier League, their share from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play produces the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't punishing opponents in the fashion Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, although the team remain the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the century of points in less games than any coach in Liverpool's history (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of supreme skill, equipped to sparking and reeling in any foe for the title, but cohesion is missing. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Issues

The player is not the only established member to suffer a decline, with the midfielder regaining to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the upheaval that has recently affected Liverpool. This extends to a personal level, with his sadness over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that poignant opening night against the Cherries. The impact of his tragedy can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he