🔗 Share this article

It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned playing the starring role in recent days with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The main man claiming the limelight yet again. The Reds need him to remain there.

Causes for Unsteady Performances

We see many reasons why variable, lackluster performances have been the frequent pattern characterizing Liverpool's start to their title defence, whether they recorded a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' visit to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, a losing run. The upheaval from numerous new signings, the coach's quest for his best XI, the late forward's passing; the winger has endured the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the term.

The Weekend's Big Match

The weekend's big match could offer the catalyst for the source of a record 16 strikes in 17 games for the club against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not triumphed at their archrivals for over nine years. The attacker will present the manager with another unexpected problem, yet, should he stay lost in the turmoil much longer.

Latest Performance

Liverpool's manager must have seen the paradox of the player's first goal against Djibouti recently. Struck directly with the exterior of his left foot into the close post, his eighth goal of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical position to his big mistake against Chelsea before the national team pause.

Had that attempt been finished moments after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden excellent setup in the English top flight. Inquests into his drop and Liverpool's unusual losing run might also have been avoided. Instead, Wirtz's search continues while the coach fumes over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by last-minute winners and another the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage larger problems.

Last Season's Contribution

Salah was instrumental in propelling the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the previous term while speculation over his future rumbled in the background. We achieved almost the utmost out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his main attacker signed an extension in April. There has been a clear drop-off on an individual and team level from then. The team, not the terms of a deal, are to blame.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's output in terms of scores and setups is reduced half on the same point last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven fixtures of 2024-25 to 4 (two goals and a couple of assists) the current campaign. His tally of attempts has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to 5, contributing to a significant drop in shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6 percent, figures show.

A particular skill that has held more steady is Salah's chance creation. With 12 opportunities made, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his stats remain among the best in Europe and up in the group of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years each.

Collective Display

Indicators of collective performance will worry Slot additionally. He had 76 touches in the opposition penalty area in the initial seven matches of the previous term. This term's count is 39. The stats are reflective of the team's difficulties overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have taken more attempts on goal than Liverpool in the current term, but the team's proportion of shots from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the Premier League, their percentage from outside the area among the top. Liverpool's rate of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily scored from a moment of magic from a forward and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play creates the most quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't beating rivals in the way Slot envisaged when Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were acquired this summer, while Liverpool are the league's third-best goalscorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to achieve the century of points in less games than any manager in the club's past (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it does settle. The side remain a team of supreme skill, able to sparking and chasing any foe for the title, but cohesion is absent. That can not be pinned on the recent arrivals only.

Personal and Collective Issues

The player is not the only key member to suffer a dip, with the midfielder regaining to form and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he is at the core of the upheaval that has lately engulfed the club. This goes to a individual level, with Salah's sorrow over the passing of Jota obvious on that emotional season opener against Bournemouth. The effect of his loss can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Changes

Last season, he