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It's been some time, but the Egyptian star reappeared playing the main part in recent days with a brace in Casablanca that confirmed Egypt's spot at the upcoming World Cup. The star stepping on center stage yet again. The Merseyside club require him to remain there.

Causes for Variable Showings

There are many causes why unsteady, unimpressive performances have been the common thread defining the team's opening to their league defense, if they produced seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Anfield on the weekend, three consecutive defeats. The disruption from numerous summer changes, Arne Slot's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually quiet opening to the season.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's showpiece occasion could provide the impetus for the cause of a record 16 goals in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their centenary trip to the stadium and have not succeeded at their biggest foes for almost a decade. The attacker will pose the manager with an additional surprise issue, though, should he continue caught in the turmoil for an extended period.

Current Performance

Liverpool's manager likely recognized the contrast of Salah's first goal against Djibouti in midweek. Struck directly with the outside of his stronger foot inside the front post, his eighth score of Egypt's qualification run originated from an nearly the same position to his expensive error versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

Had that attempt been finished moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's first superb pass in the Premier League. Analyses into his decline and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might as well have been delayed. Instead, Wirtz's wait persists while Slot stews over a third defeat away, two due to late goals and another the result of a controversial spot-kick. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not mask larger problems.

Last Season's Influence

Salah was crucial in pushing Liverpool towards a historic 20th crown last season while doubt over his career persisted in the backdrop. We extracted almost the maximum out of Salah last term,” said Slot when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a obvious drop-off on an individual and collective level since. The team, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Performance Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and assists is down half on the same point last season, from a combined eight in the opening seven matches of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) the current campaign. His number of attempts has decreased from 22 to 12 while accurate shots have declined from 15 to five, leading to a steep fall in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is his creativity. With 12 key passes, against 14 at the same stage of last campaign, his numbers remain among the best in Europe and up in the company of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years each.

Collective Display

Measures of team display will concern Slot more. Salah had 76 touches in the opposition box in the first seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's total is thirty-nine. These figures are indicative of the squad's issues overall. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but Liverpool's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard box is the smallest in the division, their share from outside the area among the top. Liverpool's proportion of shots on target – 28.4% – is as well among the lowest in the league.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mainly found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” Slot said. “Now we have not seen as many acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play produces the highest expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating foes in the manner the coach planned when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, though the team stay the division's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to attain the century of points in less games than any coach in the club's past (forty-six). Think what his attack will do when it does settle. The side are still a squad of outstanding individual quality, able to sparking and chasing any rival for the title, but cohesion is missing. That can not be blamed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the sole senior player to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to fitness and the defender toiling. But he ends up at the heart of the disruption that has of late enveloped the club. That extends to a individual level, with Salah's sadness over the passing of Jota obvious on that heartfelt season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of Jota's tragedy can neither be quantified nor overlooked.

Strategic Shifts

Last season, he