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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared taking on the starring role in recent days with a double in Morocco that sealed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The key player stepping on the spotlight another time. Liverpool need him to stay there.

Reasons for Variable Showings

We see many causes why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the common thread defining the team's start to their title defence, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from numerous new signings, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically quiet beginning to the term.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's big match could offer the impetus for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will pose Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he remain caught in the upheaval much longer.

Latest Form

The team's manager must have recognized the contrast of the player's first goal against Djibouti in midweek. Drilled directly with the exterior of his stronger foot into the front post, Salah's eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run came from an nearly the same spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been finished shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating the new signing's first sublime setup in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's drop and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might also have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's wait goes on while the coach stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple caused by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot repeated on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was instrumental in propelling the side towards a tying 20th crown the prior campaign while uncertainty over his future lingered in the background. We extracted almost the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in April. There has been a obvious decrease on an personal and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and assists is reduced 50% on the same stage the previous term, from a total eight in the initial seven fixtures of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to 5, causing a steep fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's creativity. With 12 key passes, versus fourteen at the same stage of last campaign, his stats remain among the best in Europe and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Indicators of team performance will worry the coach more. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition box in the first seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's problems in general. Only United and the Gunners have taken more attempts on goal than them this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their ratio from long range among the highest. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from live action produces the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not punishing rivals in the fashion Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were brought on board in the offseason, while the team are the division's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for him to attain the 100-point total in less games than any boss in Liverpool's history (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional skill, equipped to starting and reeling in any foe for the championship, but synergy is absent. This can not be attributed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Collective Challenges

Salah is not the sole established member to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he is at the core of the upheaval that has of late enveloped Liverpool. This applies to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the passing of Diogo Jota obvious on that heartfelt season opener against Bournemouth. The impact of his loss can neither be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Adjustments

Last season, he