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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star returned taking on the starring role recently with a brace in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The star taking the spotlight another time. The Reds need him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There exist many factors why unsteady, unimpressive showings have been the frequent pattern running through Liverpool's opening to their championship defense, if they achieved a winning streak or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from multiple offseason moves, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his atypically low-key start to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. The attacker will present Slot with a further unexpected problem, though, if he remain lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach must have seen the paradox of the player's first goal against Djibouti last Wednesday. Drilled first time with the exterior of his left foot into the near post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualification run originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's maiden excellent pass in the English top flight. Inquests into Salah's drop and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while the coach fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple inflicted by late goals and one the result of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was crucial in propelling the side towards a tying 20th championship the prior campaign while uncertainty over his future lingered in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the best out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a clear decline on an personal and collective level from then. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the same point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His number of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to five, causing a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With 12 chances created, versus fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his numbers are among the best in the continent and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Collective Performance

Metrics of collective performance will trouble the coach further. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the opening seven fixtures of the prior campaign. This term's tally is 39. The numbers are reflective of the team's issues as a whole. Only United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the goal area is the lowest in the division, their ratio from outside the area among the greatest. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we mostly scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “This season we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play generates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating opponents in the manner the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, though the team remain the division's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any manager in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding skill, capable of starting and catching any foe for the title, but synergy is absent. This can not be pinned on the new signings only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole established member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and the defender struggling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has lately affected Liverpool. That applies to a individual level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota clear on that emotional first game against Bournemouth. The impact of his loss can not be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he