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It's been a while, but the Egyptian star was back taking on the main part recently with a double in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The key player claiming the limelight yet again. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Variable Showings

There are numerous causes why inconsistent, lackluster showings have been the frequent pattern running through the team's beginning to their league defense, if they achieved seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The upheaval from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's search for his best XI, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically quiet beginning to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could deliver the impetus for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 outings for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for almost a decade. Salah will create the manager with an additional unexpected problem, yet, if he stay caught in the upheaval much longer.

Latest Form

The team's boss likely seen the irony of Salah's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled first time with the exterior of his left foot inside the near post, his eighth strike of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an very similar location to his big mistake in the Chelsea match before the international break.

Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb pass in the league. Inquests into Salah's dip and Liverpool's unusual losing run might also have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while Slot stews over a third loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot repeated on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was key in driving Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown the previous term while uncertainty over his future lingered in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. There has been a obvious decline on an individual and team level from then. The lineup, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and assists is down 50% on the same point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven league games of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. The count of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have declined from fifteen to five, causing a sharp fall in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, compared with fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his stats remain among the best in the continent and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and 13 years each.

Collective Output

Metrics of team display will worry Slot further. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition box in the initial seven league games of last season. This season's total is thirty-nine. These figures are symptomatic of the squad's issues overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from inside the goal area is the lowest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the greatest. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mostly scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the second half it was more from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we lack as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play creates the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating opponents in the way the coach planned when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, while Liverpool are the league's equal third-top scorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for Slot to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any boss in the club's past (46). Consider what his attack will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a squad of exceptional talent, equipped to sparking and reeling in any foe for the championship, but unity is missing. This can not be blamed on the new signings only.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the sole senior player to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the center of the upheaval that has of late enveloped Liverpool. That applies to a individual level, with his sorrow over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's loss can neither be quantified nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he