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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star was back playing the starring role last week with a double in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The main man taking the spotlight once more. The Reds must have him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Performances

There are several factors why variable, unconvincing performances have been the frequent pattern defining the team's start to their championship defense, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has felt the effect of them all during his unusually quiet start to the campaign.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's key fixture could offer the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are making their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for almost a decade. The attacker will present Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, however, should he stay lost in the upheaval indefinitely.

Latest Performance

Liverpool's manager must have noticed the contrast of the player's initial score against the opponent recently. Drilled immediately with the exterior of his stronger foot into the front post, Salah's eighth goal of the national team's qualification run originated from an almost identical spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been finished shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's first superb setup in the Premier League. Analyses into Salah's decline and the team's rare losing run might also have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search persists while the coach fumes over a third defeat away, two caused by late goals and another the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he repeated on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his future persisted in the background. We achieved almost the maximum out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an personal and team level from then. The team, not the terms of a contract, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is lower 50% on the same stage last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven league games of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. The count of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have fallen from fifteen to five, causing a steep decline in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's creativity. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the equivalent point of the previous season, his figures stay among the finest in the continent and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Team Performance

Metrics of collective display will worry Slot additionally. Salah had 76 contacts in the enemy box in the initial seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's count is 39. The numbers are indicative of the team's problems as a whole. Just Manchester United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard area is the lowest in the top flight, their percentage from distance among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we mainly scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from live action produces the most xG chances.”

New Signings

They are not hurting opponents in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were brought on board recently, while Liverpool stay the division's equal third-top scorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in the club's history (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of exceptional skill, equipped to igniting and reeling in any opponent for the title, but cohesion is lacking. That can not be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Individual and Collective Issues

Salah is not the sole senior player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté toiling. But he ends up at the core of the disruption that has of late enveloped Liverpool. This applies to a personal level, with Salah's grief over the loss of Jota evident on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's tragedy can not be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Shifts

Last season, he