🔗 Share this article

It has been some time, but Liverpool's forward returned taking on the starring role in recent days with a brace in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking the limelight yet again. Liverpool require him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Displays

There are numerous reasons why inconsistent, unconvincing displays have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their league defense, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's loss; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his unusually low-key start to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the impetus for the origin of a impressive 16 goals in 17 games for Liverpool 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 present the manager with an additional unexpected problem, though, should he stay lost in the turmoil for an extended period.

Latest Form

The team's boss must have noticed the contrast of the player's initial score against the opponent recently. Struck first time with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an nearly the same spot to his expensive error in the Chelsea match prior to the international break.

Had that shot with his right been scored moments after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first superb setup in the English top flight. Discussions into Salah's dip and Liverpool's rare defeat streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach broods over a third loss on the road, two due to late goals and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown the previous term while doubt over his long-term plans rumbled in the background. We achieved nearly the maximum out of Salah that campaign,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level from then. The team, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Statistical Drop

His contribution in terms of goals and assists is lower 50% on the corresponding stage last season, from a combined eight in the first seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of attempts has dropped from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, causing a significant drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is his creativity. With 12 opportunities made, against fourteen at the same stage of last campaign, his figures stay among the best in Europe and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of team performance will worry the coach additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven matches of the previous term. This season's count is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's difficulties overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's rate of shots from inside the six-yard area is the poorest in the division, their ratio from outside the area among the greatest. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a moment of magic from a forward and in the second half it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Now we lack as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action generates the most quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not beating rivals in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool remain the league's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the century of points in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of supreme skill, able to starting and reeling in any rival for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. This can not be pinned on the summer recruits only.

Personal and Collective Challenges

Salah is not the only key player to experience a dip, with the midfielder working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the center of the disruption that has recently affected Liverpool. That applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota clear on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's tragedy can not be quantified nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

Last season, he