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It's been some time, but Liverpool's forward returned assuming the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's place at the global tournament. The star stepping on the spotlight once more. Liverpool need him to keep that position.

Reasons for Unsteady Performances

We see many reasons why unsteady, unconvincing showings have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's opening to their title defence, if they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many new signings, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has experienced the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 outings for the club against United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for almost a decade. Salah will present the manager with another unexpected problem, though, should he stay lost in the turmoil much longer.

Recent Display

Liverpool's manager must have noticed the paradox of the player's initial score against the opponent in midweek. Swept immediately with the outside of his left foot inside the close post, his eighth score of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an very similar position to his costly miss in the Chelsea match before the break for internationals.

Had that right-foot effort been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising the new signing's first superb setup in the league. Inquests into his dip and the team's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's search continues while the coach broods over a third consecutive away defeat, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he repeated on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Influence

The forward was instrumental in driving the side towards a historic 20th league title the prior campaign while doubt over his long-term plans lingered in the backdrop. We extracted almost the utmost out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a noticeable decline on an individual and collective level from then. The team, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Statistical Decrease

His contribution in terms of scores and assists is down 50% on the same stage last season, from a total 8 in the opening seven fixtures of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to five, causing a steep decline in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

One attribute that has held more steady is Salah's playmaking. With twelve opportunities made, compared with 14 at the same stage of last term, his numbers remain among the best in Europe and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Output

Measures of collective performance will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven matches of the prior campaign. This season's tally is 39. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have tried a greater number of shots on goal than them this season, but the team's rate of attempts from within the goal area is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from distance among the greatest. Liverpool's proportion of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play generates the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't beating opponents in the way the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, though Liverpool are the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for him to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any boss in the club's history (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a squad of supreme talent, able to starting and reeling in any rival for the title, but cohesion is absent. That can not be blamed on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Personal and Collective Issues

Salah is not the only key player to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the heart of the turmoil that has recently affected Liverpool. That extends to a individual level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's death can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

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