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It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah reappeared taking on the starring role in recent days with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The key player claiming the limelight yet again. Liverpool must have him to remain there.

Reasons for Variable Performances

There are numerous factors why inconsistent, unconvincing displays have been the common thread characterizing Liverpool's opening to their league defense, if they produced seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from so many offseason moves, Arne Slot's quest for his ideal lineup, the late forward's loss; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his unusually low-key opening to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's key fixture could provide the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their biggest foes for almost a decade. Salah will create the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, if he stay lost in the disruption much longer.

Latest Performance

Liverpool's boss likely recognized the contrast of Salah's initial score against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck first time with the exterior of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualifying effort originated from an very similar position to his expensive error versus Chelsea before the international break.

Had that shot with his right been finished shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's first sublime setup in the Premier League. Analyses into Salah's dip and Liverpool's unusual losing run might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, two inflicted by last-minute winners and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th crown last season while uncertainty over his long-term plans lingered in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in April. There has been a obvious decline on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decrease

His production in terms of scores and setups is lower 50% on the same point the previous term, from a total 8 in the opening seven fixtures of last season to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from fifteen to 5, contributing to a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With twelve key passes, against 14 at the comparable period of last campaign, his stats stay among the top in the continent and up in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Team Performance

Indicators of collective output will worry the coach further. Salah had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are reflective of the team's difficulties in general. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than them now, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard box is the smallest in the Premier League, their share from outside the area among the top. Liverpool's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not hurting foes in the fashion Slot planned when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed in the offseason, although the team stay the division's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any manager in the club's past (46). Think what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a squad of exceptional individual quality, capable of starting and chasing any rival for the title, but cohesion is missing. That can not be pinned on the summer recruits alone.

Personal and Team Issues

The player is not the sole key member to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to form and the defender toiling. But he is at the center of the disruption that has of late engulfed Liverpool. This extends to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota clear on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can not be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Changes

Previously, he