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It's been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back taking on the starring role in recent days with a double in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's spot at the global tournament. The main man taking the spotlight yet again. The Reds must have him to remain there.

Factors for Variable Displays

We see several causes why inconsistent, unimpressive showings have been the common thread defining Liverpool's opening to their league defense, if they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' arrival to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his top team, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key opening to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's big match could deliver the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will create Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, however, if he continue caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Performance

Liverpool's manager likely noticed the irony of the player's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck directly with the outside of his left foot into the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualification run came from an almost identical location to his costly miss against Chelsea before the national team pause.

Had that attempt been scored moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first superb setup in the Premier League. Discussions into Salah's dip and Liverpool's rare losing run might also have been postponed. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot stews over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was key in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while speculation over his future persisted in the backdrop. We achieved nearly the utmost out of Salah last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Statistical Decline

His production in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the same point the previous term, from a total eight in the first seven matches of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. His tally of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have declined from 15 to 5, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his playmaking. With 12 opportunities made, against fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his stats stay among the finest in Europe and up in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years each.

Team Display

Measures of collective performance will worry Slot more. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven matches of last season. This season's total is 39. These figures are indicative of the team's issues as a whole. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than them this season, but Liverpool's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard box is the lowest in the division, their share from long range among the top. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we primarily found the net from a special moment from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we have not seen as numerous sparks of quality and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play creates the highest xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating rivals in the way the coach imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired in the offseason, while the team remain the division's equal third-top goalscorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for Slot to reach the century of points in less games than any coach in Liverpool's past (46). Think what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side remain a team of exceptional skill, equipped to igniting and chasing any opponent for the title, but synergy is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals by themselves.

Individual and Collective Challenges

Salah is not the sole senior member to experience a decline, with the midfielder working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he ends up at the core of the disruption that has recently engulfed the club. That extends to a individual level, with his grief over the loss of Diogo Jota evident on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's death can neither be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

In the prior campaign, he