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It's been some time, but Mohamed Salah returned assuming the main part in recent days with a double in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The key player claiming center stage another time. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Variable Displays

There exist several causes why variable, lackluster showings have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's beginning to their league defense, whether they produced a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from multiple summer changes, Arne Slot's quest for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has felt the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key opening to the term.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's big match could offer the spark for the cause of a record 16 scores in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to Anfield and have not triumphed at their biggest foes for almost a decade. The attacker will create the manager with an additional surprise issue, however, if he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Display

The team's head coach must have noticed the irony of Salah's opening strike against the opponent in midweek. Swept first time with the exterior of his left foot into the front post, his eighth goal of the national team's qualifying effort was from an nearly the same location to his big mistake against Chelsea before the break for internationals.

Had that shot with his right been scored moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime setup in the English top flight. Inquests into Salah's decline and the team's rare losing streak might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's wait goes on while Slot fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, two due to last-minute winners and another the outcome of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as Slot emphasized on recently, but they do not mask bigger issues.

Last Season's Impact

The forward was instrumental in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the prior campaign while uncertainty over his long-term plans lingered in the background. “We brought nearly the maximum out of Salah this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in April. There has been a clear decrease on an personal and team level since. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is lower half on the same point last season, from a total eight in the initial seven fixtures of 2024-25 to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. The count of shots has decreased from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, causing a steep decline in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

A single trait that has stayed stable is Salah's chance creation. With 12 chances created, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his figures are among the top in the continent and comparable in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years respectively.

Collective Output

Measures of collective output will trouble Slot further. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven fixtures of the prior campaign. The current campaign's total is 39. The numbers are reflective of the squad's problems in general. Just United and the Gunners have taken more shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but Liverpool's rate of shots from inside the six-yard area is the poorest in the division, their ratio from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of shots on target – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Currently we haven’t had as numerous acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the team that from general play creates the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not punishing foes in the manner Slot planned when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were signed recently, while Liverpool stay the division's joint third-highest goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be sufficient for him to reach the century of points in fewer games than any boss in Liverpool's history (46). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to igniting and catching any foe for the title, but cohesion is absent. That cannot be attributed on the new signings by themselves.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole senior member to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister regaining to fitness and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has of late affected the club. That goes to a individual level, with his sorrow over the death of Jota evident on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The effect of Jota's loss can not be measured nor overlooked.

Tactical Adjustments

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