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It's been a while, but the Egyptian star reappeared playing the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's position at the global tournament. The key player stepping on center stage another time. The Reds need him to keep that position.

Factors for Variable Displays

We see numerous factors why variable, lackluster showings have been the frequent pattern running through Liverpool's opening to their championship defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The turmoil from multiple new signings, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, Diogo Jota's passing; the winger has experienced the consequences of them all during his atypically low-key opening to the season.

Sunday's Showpiece Occasion

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the source of a record 16 scores in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will present Slot with another unexpected problem, however, should he continue lost in the turmoil much longer.

Recent Performance

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the irony of the player's opening strike against Djibouti recently. Swept first time with the outside of his stronger foot into the near post, Salah's eighth score of the national team's qualification run originated from an nearly the same location to his costly miss against Chelsea before the international break.

If that attempt been scored shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would even now be celebrating Florian Wirtz's first excellent assist in the league. Analyses into Salah's drop and the team's infrequent losing run might also have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's search persists while Slot broods over a third away defeat, a couple caused by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide bigger issues.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was key in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th crown the previous term while uncertainty over his future persisted in the backdrop. We achieved almost the maximum out of Mo last term,” said the manager when his top scorer signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a noticeable decrease on an personal and collective level since. The lineup, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is reduced 50% on the same point the previous term, from a combined eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has fallen from twenty-two to twelve while accurate shots have dropped from 15 to five, causing a significant drop in shot accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is his chance creation. With twelve chances created, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of the previous season, his stats remain among the top in the continent and comparable in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Team Performance

Indicators of team output will worry the coach additionally. He had 76 touches in the opposition box in the first seven fixtures of the previous term. This term's total is 39. These figures are indicative of the squad's issues overall. Only Manchester United and the Gunners have tried more shots on goal than them this season, but the team's percentage of shots from inside the six-yard box is the smallest in the top flight, their ratio from long range among the highest. Liverpool's proportion of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is as well among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we mainly found the net from an individual brilliance from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous sparks of quality and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from live action creates the highest xG chances.”

Recent Additions

They are not punishing foes in the manner Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were acquired recently, although Liverpool are the division's joint third-highest scorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for him to achieve the 100-point total in less games than any manager in Liverpool's past (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a squad of outstanding skill, capable of starting and chasing any foe for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. This can not be blamed on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the sole established member to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and the defender toiling. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has lately engulfed the club. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the loss of Jota obvious on that poignant season opener against the Cherries. The impact of Jota's tragedy can not be quantified nor dismissed.

Strategic Shifts

Last season, he