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It has been some time, but Mohamed Salah reappeared taking on the starring role in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The main man claiming center stage yet again. The Reds require him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Performances

There exist several causes why variable, lackluster displays have been the common thread running through Liverpool's beginning to their championship defense, if they recorded seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three losses in a row. The turmoil from numerous offseason moves, Arne Slot's quest for his ideal lineup, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his atypically low-key beginning to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could offer the impetus for the cause of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. Salah will pose the manager with a further surprise issue, though, if he remain caught in the disruption indefinitely.

Recent Display

The team's boss must have noticed the irony of Salah's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Struck first time with the exterior of his stronger foot into the front post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualifying effort originated from an very similar location to his big mistake against Chelsea prior to the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's first sublime assist in the league. Discussions into his dip and the team's unusual losing run might also have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's search persists while the coach fumes over a third consecutive away defeat, two inflicted by late goals and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot repeated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was key in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th crown the previous term while speculation over his future persisted in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and assists is down half on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the initial seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His tally of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have declined from fifteen to five, leading to a significant decline in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's creativity. With 12 key passes, versus fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his numbers remain among the finest in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Display

Measures of team output will concern the coach further. He had 76 contacts in the opposition penalty area in the first seven league games of last season. The current campaign's count is thirty-nine. The stats are reflective of the squad's problems in general. Just United and the Gunners have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the division, their ratio from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the weakest in the league.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Currently we have not seen as many sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play creates the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't beating opponents in the fashion Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, although Liverpool remain the division's equal third-top scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to reach the 100-point total in less games than any manager in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of outstanding individual quality, able to starting and catching any foe for the championship, but unity is lacking. That can not be blamed on the new signings only.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole senior player to experience a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the center of the upheaval that has lately engulfed the club. That extends to a individual level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota evident on that poignant opening night against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's tragedy can not be quantified nor ignored.

Strategic Shifts

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