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It's been a while, but Liverpool's forward was back assuming the starring role in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that confirmed the Egyptian team's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The main man taking the limelight another time. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.

Factors for Variable Showings

There exist numerous factors why unsteady, lackluster displays have been the recurring theme characterizing the team's opening to their league defense, if they achieved seven straight victories or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from numerous offseason moves, the coach's search for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has experienced the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key beginning to the campaign.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's key fixture could deliver the spark for the source of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with another unforeseen dilemma, however, should he continue lost in the upheaval much longer.

Recent Form

The team's boss must have recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against the opponent last Wednesday. Swept immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualifying effort was from an very similar spot to his expensive error against Chelsea prior to the international break.

Had that attempt been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden excellent setup in the league. Analyses into his dip and Liverpool's infrequent losing streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, the midfielder's search goes on while the coach stews over a third defeat away, a couple caused by late goals and another the result of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was crucial in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the prior campaign while doubt over his future lingered in the backdrop. We extracted nearly the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a obvious decline on an individual and collective level since. The lineup, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

His contribution in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the same point the previous term, from a combined eight in the initial seven fixtures of last season to four (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. The count of shots has dropped from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to five, contributing to a significant decline in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, figures show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With twelve opportunities made, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his figures are among the finest in the continent and up in the ranks of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Collective Performance

Metrics of collective performance will worry the coach additionally. He had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of last season. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. These figures are reflective of the team's issues as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of attempts on goal than them in the current term, but Liverpool's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is also among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the second half it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “This season we have not seen as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play creates the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not hurting rivals in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were signed this summer, although Liverpool remain the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to attain the 100-point total in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side remain a squad of supreme talent, equipped to starting and catching any rival for the title, but unity is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Collective Problems

Salah is not the only established player to experience a drop-off, with the midfielder returning to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he finds himself at the center of the upheaval that has of late enveloped the club. That goes to a individual level, with his grief over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant first game against the Cherries. The influence of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor ignored.

Tactical Adjustments

Previously, he