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It's been a period, but Liverpool's forward was back taking on the starring role recently with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's position at the global tournament. The star taking the spotlight once more. The Reds require him to remain there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Showings

There exist many reasons why inconsistent, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme running through the team's beginning to their title defence, if they achieved seven wins in a row or, before Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple new signings, the coach's hunt for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his atypically low-key opening to the campaign.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their centenary trip to Anfield and have not succeeded at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with a further unforeseen dilemma, however, if he remain caught in the disruption for an extended period.

Recent Performance

The team's head coach must have noticed the contrast of the player's initial score against Djibouti in midweek. Drilled directly with the outside of his left foot into the near post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign originated from an almost identical spot to his costly miss versus Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been scored shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's first sublime pass in the Premier League. Discussions into his decline and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might also have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's search persists while the coach broods over a third loss on the road, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as he repeated on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Impact

Salah was instrumental in pushing the side towards a historic 20th league title last season while speculation over his career rumbled in the background. “We brought nearly the best out of Salah that campaign,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decrease on an individual and collective level from then. The squad, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Performance Drop

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is lower half on the same stage the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to five, contributing to a steep drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is Salah's chance creation. With 12 key passes, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his figures are among the best in Europe and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of team output will worry Slot more. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the opening seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. These figures are symptomatic of the team's problems in general. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have attempted more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's rate of attempts from within the six-yard box is the lowest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the greatest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a special moment from one of our front three and in the second half it was more from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as many moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play generates the most quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating opponents in the manner the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, while the team remain the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side are still a squad of supreme individual quality, capable of starting and chasing any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Problems

Salah is not the sole senior member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the center of the disruption that has recently affected Liverpool. That goes to a individual level, with his sadness over the passing of Jota obvious on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The influence of Jota's tragedy can not be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Adjustments

Last season, he