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It's been a period, but Mohamed Salah was back assuming the lead part recently with two goals in Casablanca that sealed the Egyptian team's place at the global tournament. The star stepping on the spotlight another time. The Merseyside club need him to keep that position.

Causes for Unsteady Displays

There are many reasons why inconsistent, unimpressive performances have been the recurring theme characterizing Liverpool's beginning to their league defense, if they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to the Red Devils' trip to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The upheaval from so many new signings, the coach's search for his ideal lineup, the late forward's passing; Salah has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued opening to the term.

The Weekend's Showpiece Occasion

The weekend's showpiece occasion could deliver the impetus for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 appearances for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not won at their fierce rivals for over nine years. The attacker will present the manager with an additional surprise issue, however, should he continue caught in the disruption indefinitely.

Latest Display

Liverpool's boss must have seen the irony of the player's first goal against Djibouti recently. Swept first time with the outside of his left foot into the close post, his eighth strike of the national team's qualification run came from an almost identical spot to his costly miss in the Chelsea match prior to the national team pause.

Had that right-foot effort been finished shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising the new signing's maiden superb assist in the league. Analyses into his drop and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might also have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's search goes on while the coach broods over a third defeat away, a couple caused by dying-minute strikes and one the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as he reiterated on Friday, but they cannot hide larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

The forward was key in driving the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship last season while uncertainty over his career lingered in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Mo this season,” said the manager when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a clear decline on an individual and team level since. The squad, not the details of a contract, are accountable.

Statistical Decline

The 33-year-old's production in terms of goals and setups is lower 50% on the same stage last season, from a combined 8 in the first seven league games of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) this term. His number of shots has dropped from twenty-two to twelve while efforts on goal have declined from 15 to five, leading to a significant decline in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, statistics show.

One attribute that has remained consistent is Salah's chance creation. With 12 opportunities made, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of the previous season, his figures are among the best in the continent and up in the ranks of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and thirteen years respectively.

Collective Display

Metrics of collective display will concern the coach further. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy box in the initial seven matches of last season. The current campaign's tally is 39. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's problems in general. Only United and the Gunners have attempted more shots on goal than Liverpool this season, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the smallest in the Premier League, their ratio from outside the area among the highest. Liverpool's rate of accurate shots – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

During the initial phase of last season we mostly found the net from a special moment from a forward and in the later stage it was more from a free-kick or corner,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we have not found the net from set pieces. But we are still the side that from general play produces the most xG chances.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not beating opponents in the manner the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak were brought on board recently, while the team are the league's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be enough for him to attain the 100-point mark in less games than any manager in the club's history (46). Consider what his attack will do when it clicks. The side are still a team of exceptional individual quality, equipped to igniting and catching any rival for the championship, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals alone.

Individual and Collective Problems

The player is not the sole key player to experience a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to fitness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he is at the heart of the disruption that has recently enveloped Liverpool. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Jota evident on that poignant opening night against Bournemouth. The impact of Jota's loss can neither be measured nor ignored.

Tactical Changes

Last season, he