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It has been a while, but Liverpool's forward reappeared playing the starring role recently with a brace in Morocco that confirmed Egypt's spot at the global tournament. The main man claiming the limelight yet again. Liverpool require him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

There are many causes why unsteady, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their league defense, if they achieved seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The turmoil from so many summer changes, the coach's search for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his unusually low-key opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will create the manager with an additional unforeseen dilemma, though, should he continue lost in the turmoil much longer.

Latest Display

The team's boss likely noticed the contrast of the player's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Drilled directly with the outside of his stronger foot into the near post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same location to his big mistake against Chelsea before the international break.

Had that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating the new signing's maiden sublime setup in the league. Analyses into Salah's dip and the team's rare defeat streak might as well have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's search goes on while Slot stews over a third defeat away, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and one the result of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not camouflage underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in pushing the side towards a historic 20th championship the previous term while doubt over his career lingered in the background. “We brought nearly the best out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. There has been a clear decline on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

His output in terms of goals and assists is down half on the corresponding point last season, from a total eight in the initial seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has dropped from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a significant drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, against fourteen at the same stage of last campaign, his stats stay among the top in Europe and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Output

Metrics of team display will concern the coach more. He had seventy-six contacts in the opposition box in the initial seven fixtures of last season. This season's tally is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties in general. Only United and Arsenal have tried more shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the Premier League, their percentage from long range among the greatest. Liverpool's percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mostly scored from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from open play generates the most quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They aren't beating foes in the way the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed recently, while the team are the division's third-best goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for him to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any coach in the club's history (46). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. The side remain a team of outstanding talent, capable of igniting and chasing any opponent for the championship, but cohesion is missing. That can not be blamed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Team Issues

Salah is not the only established player to suffer a drop-off, with the midfielder working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the heart of the turmoil that has lately enveloped the club. That extends to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota clear on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's tragedy can neither be assessed nor ignored.

Strategic Shifts

Previously, he