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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the lead part recently with a double in Morocco that sealed the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The main man taking center stage yet again. The Reds need him to stay there.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

There are several factors why unsteady, lackluster performances have been the frequent pattern running through Liverpool's opening to their league defense, if they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three losses in a row. The turmoil from multiple summer changes, the coach's hunt for his top team, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his unusually quiet start to the campaign.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

The weekend's key fixture could provide the spark for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 appearances for the club against Manchester United, who are making their centenary trip to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for almost a decade. The attacker will create Slot with a further unexpected problem, however, should he stay caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

Current Display

Liverpool's boss must have noticed the paradox of the player's first goal against the opponent in midweek. Struck immediately with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, his eighth goal of Egypt's qualification run came from an very similar spot to his big mistake versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

If that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden excellent assist in the league. Analyses into Salah's dip and Liverpool's infrequent defeat streak might also have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, two inflicted by dying-minute strikes and another the outcome of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was crucial in driving Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship last season while doubt over his future lingered in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in April. There has been a clear decrease on an personal and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is lower 50% on the corresponding point the prior campaign, from a combined eight in the opening seven matches of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this season. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from 15 to 5, causing a significant decline in shooting accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has held more steady is his playmaking. With twelve chances created, against 14 at the comparable period of the previous season, his stats stay among the top in Europe and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Performance

Metrics of team output will trouble the coach more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the opening seven matches of the previous term. This season's tally is thirty-nine. The stats are reflective of the squad's problems as a whole. Just United and the Gunners have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their share from distance among the greatest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was more from a dead ball,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as many sparks of quality and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play generates the most xG chances.”

New Signings

They are not punishing foes in the way Slot envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired this summer, while Liverpool remain the league's third-best scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to reach the century of points in fewer games than any coach in the club's past (forty-six). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. Liverpool are still a team of exceptional individual quality, capable of igniting and chasing any rival for the championship, but unity is lacking. This can not be pinned on the new signings only.

Individual and Collective Issues

The player is not the only key player to suffer a drop-off, with the midfielder regaining to form and the defender toiling. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has lately affected the club. This extends to a personal level, with his sadness over the death of Jota evident on that emotional opening night against Bournemouth. The influence of his loss can neither be assessed nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

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