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It's been some time, but Mohamed Salah was back taking on the lead part last week with a double in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The key player stepping on center stage another time. Liverpool must have him to keep that position.

Causes for Inconsistent Performances

There exist numerous reasons why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's beginning to their league defense, whether they recorded seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from numerous new signings, the coach's quest for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his atypically quiet start to the season.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the spark for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for over nine years. The attacker will create Slot with another unexpected problem, yet, should he continue lost in the turmoil indefinitely.

Recent Display

The team's boss must have noticed the contrast of the player's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Drilled first time with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical spot to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that attempt been finished shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime assist in the league. Analyses into Salah's dip and the team's unusual losing run might as well have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot fumes over a third away defeat, two due to dying-minute strikes and one the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as he reiterated on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was key in driving the side towards a tying 20th championship the prior campaign while speculation over his long-term plans persisted in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a clear drop-off on an individual and team level from then. The team, not the details of a contract, are to blame.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and assists is reduced half on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a total eight in the initial seven league games of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has dropped from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to 5, causing a sharp drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is Salah's creativity. With 12 chances created, versus 14 at the comparable period of last term, his stats remain among the best in Europe and comparable in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Output

Metrics of collective output will trouble the coach more. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the initial seven matches of last season. This term's tally is 39. These figures are reflective of the squad's difficulties overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the top flight, their ratio from outside the area among the top. The club's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the competition.

During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a special moment from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They are not hurting opponents in the fashion the coach planned when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, although Liverpool stay the division's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in the club's history (46). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side are still a team of supreme skill, capable of igniting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is lacking. This cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals only.

Individual and Team Issues

The player is not the only senior player to experience a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the center of the turmoil that has lately affected the club. That applies to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional first game against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's death can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he