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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the starring role in recent days with a brace in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The star taking center stage yet again. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Variable Displays

There exist numerous reasons why unsteady, unimpressive displays have been the common thread running through Liverpool's beginning to their title defence, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from so many summer changes, the coach's search for his best XI, Diogo Jota's loss; the winger has experienced the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet start to the term.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the source of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for the club against United, who are making their centenary trip to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will create Slot with a further unexpected problem, however, if he continue lost in the turmoil much longer.

Current Form

The team's head coach must have noticed the paradox of the player's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Drilled directly with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same location to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the break for internationals.

If that attempt been finished moments after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first superb pass in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's drop and the team's infrequent losing streak might also have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's wait persists while the coach broods over a third defeat away, two inflicted by last-minute winners and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was crucial in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while uncertainty over his long-term plans persisted in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the utmost out of Mo that campaign,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in the spring. There has been a noticeable decline on an individual and team level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is lower half on the same point the previous term, from a total 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to twelve while shots on target have dropped from fifteen to 5, leading to a steep fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is Salah's playmaking. With 12 key passes, against fourteen at the same stage of the previous season, his figures remain among the best in the continent and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Measures of team display will trouble the coach further. He had 76 contacts in the opposition penalty area in the first seven league games of last season. This season's total is 39. These figures are indicative of the team's problems in general. Just United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from within the six-yard box is the smallest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the top. The club's rate of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is also among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “Now we have not seen as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play creates the most expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating rivals in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, while the team stay the league's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's history (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it does settle. The side remain a team of supreme skill, able to sparking and reeling in any foe for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. That can not be blamed on the new signings by themselves.

Personal and Collective Issues

Salah is not the only senior player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the disruption that has recently engulfed the club. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional season opener against the Cherries. The influence of his death can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Changes

Last season, he