🔗 Share this article

It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back assuming the starring role last week with a double in Morocco that confirmed the Egyptian team's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking the spotlight once more. Liverpool need him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Performances

We see many factors why inconsistent, unconvincing showings have been the frequent pattern running through the team's start to their title defence, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Anfield on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from numerous new signings, Arne Slot's hunt for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's passing; Salah has endured the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's key fixture could provide the impetus for the origin of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with another unexpected problem, though, if he stay caught in the disruption much longer.

Recent Display

The team's boss likely noticed the irony of Salah's opening strike against the opponent recently. Swept immediately with the outside of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualifying effort originated from an very similar location to his expensive error against Chelsea before the break for internationals.

If that right-foot effort been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be celebrating the new signing's first sublime assist in the league. Analyses into his decline and the team's rare losing streak might as well have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's wait continues while the coach stews over a third consecutive away defeat, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot repeated on recently, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Impact

The forward was instrumental in propelling the side towards a historic 20th championship the prior campaign while speculation over his career lingered in the backdrop. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Mo last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decrease on an individual and collective level since. The squad, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of goals and setups is lower half on the corresponding point last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven matches of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of attempts has fallen from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, against 14 at the same stage of last term, his figures are among the best in Europe and up in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Indicators of collective output will trouble Slot further. He had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven league games of the prior campaign. The current campaign's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's issues in general. 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 attempts from within the goal area is the lowest in the top flight, their share from long range among the top. The club's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily scored from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action generates the highest expected goals opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't punishing foes in the fashion the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were acquired in the offseason, though the team stay the league's third-best scorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for Slot to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side are still a team of exceptional talent, able to sparking and reeling in any foe for the championship, but cohesion is absent. This cannot be pinned on the new signings alone.

Individual and Team Challenges

The player is not the only senior player to suffer a decline, with the midfielder regaining to form and the defender laboring. But he is at the heart of the upheaval that has of late affected Liverpool. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Jota clear on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The impact of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor overlooked.

Tactical Changes

In the prior campaign, he