🔗 Share this article

It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah was back playing the lead part in recent days with a double in Casablanca that secured Egypt's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man claiming center stage yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Showings

There are many reasons why variable, unconvincing performances have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their title defence, whether they produced a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The disruption from numerous offseason moves, the coach's quest for his top team, the late forward's loss; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically quiet start to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the catalyst for the origin of a record 16 strikes in 17 outings for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to Anfield and have not won at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will present Slot with an additional unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he stay caught in the disruption much longer.

Latest Form

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the paradox of the player's initial score against Djibouti recently. Drilled directly with the outside of his left foot into the close post, his eighth strike of Egypt's qualification run was from an almost identical position to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the national team pause.

If that shot with his right been converted moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime assist in the league. Inquests into his drop and the team's unusual losing run might as well have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's search continues while Slot fumes over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple caused by last-minute winners and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot repeated on Friday, but they do not mask underlying concerns.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in propelling the side towards a historic 20th crown last season while doubt over his future persisted in the background. We extracted almost the utmost out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his leading striker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a noticeable drop-off on an individual and team level from then. The team, not the details of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's output in terms of goals and setups is lower half on the same stage last season, from a total eight in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. The count of attempts has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have fallen from fifteen to five, leading to a sharp decline in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the comparable period of last term, his numbers are among the top in the continent and up in the company of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Display

Indicators of team performance will worry Slot additionally. He had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of last season. This season's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's issues overall. Just United and the Gunners have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool's rate of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the smallest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the greatest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we primarily scored from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “This season we lack as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are still the team that from general play generates the most xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They aren't hurting opponents in the fashion the coach imagined when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed recently, though the team stay the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for Slot to achieve the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in the club's history (forty-six). Consider what his offense will do when it does settle. The side remain a team of supreme skill, capable of starting and reeling in any rival for the title, but synergy is missing. This cannot be attributed on the new signings by themselves.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a decline, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the turmoil that has of late affected Liverpool. That goes to a personal level, with Salah's sorrow over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional opening night against the Cherries. The effect of his death can not be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Shifts

In the prior campaign, he