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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared taking on the main part last week with a double in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The main man claiming center stage once more. Liverpool require him to keep that position.

Causes for Variable Showings

We see several factors why variable, unimpressive displays have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their championship defense, if they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's quest for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's key fixture could provide the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 scores in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for over nine years. Salah will pose the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he continue caught in the upheaval much longer.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach must have noticed the paradox of Salah's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Drilled directly with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the near post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's qualifying effort was from an nearly the same position to his costly miss versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

Had that attempt been scored moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden superb pass in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's drop and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might also have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's search continues while the coach fumes over a third away defeat, two caused by last-minute winners and one the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as he emphasized on recently, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was instrumental in driving the side towards a tying 20th championship last season while doubt over his career persisted in the backdrop. We extracted almost the best out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a noticeable decline on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and setups is down 50% on the same stage the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the first seven league games of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to 5, leading to a sharp decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's creativity. With 12 opportunities made, versus 14 at the comparable period of last term, his stats are among the best in the continent and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Team Output

Metrics of team display will worry Slot additionally. He had 76 contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven matches of the prior campaign. The current campaign's tally is 39. The numbers are reflective of the squad's problems as a whole. Only United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their percentage from long range among the highest. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from live action produces the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't punishing opponents in the fashion the coach imagined when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were brought on board in the offseason, while the team are the division's third-best goalscorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for him to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (46). Think what his offense will do when it does settle. Liverpool remain a team of outstanding talent, equipped to igniting and chasing any rival for the title, but cohesion is absent. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Team Issues

The player is not the only established member to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has lately affected Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with his sadness over the loss of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's death can neither be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Adjustments

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