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It has been a while, but the Egyptian star returned assuming the main part last week with two goals in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the limelight once more. The Reds need him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Showings

We see many reasons why inconsistent, unconvincing displays have been the frequent pattern defining Liverpool's start to their league defense, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his top team, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's key fixture could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will present Slot with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he remain caught in the turmoil much longer.

Current Display

Liverpool's head coach likely noticed the contrast of Salah's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualifying effort was from an almost identical position to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's first superb pass in the English top flight. Analyses into his dip and Liverpool's rare defeat streak might as well have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's search persists while Slot stews over a third loss on the road, two caused by late goals and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was key in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his career rumbled in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a clear decline on an personal and team level from then. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and setups is down 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (two goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has fallen from twenty-two to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to 5, contributing to a sharp fall in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, against fourteen at the same stage of last term, his figures stay among the best in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective performance will worry the coach more. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's total is 39. The stats are reflective of the squad's problems overall. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted more shots on goal than them in the current term, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mostly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as numerous acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from open play creates the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not hurting opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while the team stay the league's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for Slot to attain the 100-point mark in fewer games than any manager in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his forward line will do when it does settle. The side remain a team of supreme individual quality, equipped to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but synergy is absent. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the only senior player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the core of the upheaval that has recently engulfed Liverpool. That applies to a personal level, with his grief over the loss of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against the Cherries. The influence of his tragedy can not be quantified nor ignored.

Tactical Shifts

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