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It's been some time, but Liverpool's forward returned taking on the main part recently with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The main man claiming the spotlight once more. The Merseyside club must have him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There are many factors why inconsistent, lackluster displays have been the recurring theme defining the team's start to their league defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's visit to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet beginning to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's showpiece occasion could deliver the catalyst for the source of a record 16 goals in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their fierce rivals for over nine years. Salah will create the manager with another unexpected problem, however, should he remain lost in the upheaval much longer.

Current Display

Liverpool's boss likely seen the paradox of the player's first goal against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck directly with the exterior of his stronger foot into the close post, Salah's eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an very similar position to his expensive error against Chelsea before the break for internationals.

Had that attempt been scored shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's first superb setup in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's dip and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach stews over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

The forward was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th crown last season while doubt over his career lingered in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a noticeable decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the corresponding stage last season, from a total 8 in the initial seven fixtures of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have declined from fifteen to five, causing a significant decline in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's creativity. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the equivalent point of the previous season, his numbers stay among the finest in Europe and comparable in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Output

Measures of team output will worry the coach further. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the first seven league games of last season. This season's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties in general. Only United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than them this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard area is the poorest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is also among the lowest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a moment of magic from a forward and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we have not seen as many acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action generates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating foes in the manner Slot imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed this summer, though the team stay the league's third-best goalscorers. A tie on the weekend would be sufficient for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (46). Think what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of supreme skill, able to igniting and chasing any foe for the title, but unity is absent. That cannot be attributed on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole key member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has recently enveloped the club. This goes to a personal level, with his sorrow over the death of Jota obvious on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's death can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Shifts

Previously, he