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It has been a period, but the Egyptian star returned playing the main part last week with a double in Morocco that confirmed Egypt's place at the global tournament. The key player taking the limelight yet again. The Merseyside club require him to remain there.

Reasons for Variable Displays

There are numerous factors why inconsistent, unconvincing showings have been the recurring theme running through Liverpool's opening to their championship defense, whether they recorded seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from multiple offseason moves, the coach's quest for his ideal lineup, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has felt the impact of them all during his uncharacteristically quiet opening to the season.

The Weekend's Big Match

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the origin of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for the club against United, who are making their centenary trip to Anfield and have not won at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. The attacker will present the manager with an additional unexpected problem, however, should he stay caught in the disruption indefinitely.

Recent Form

Liverpool's manager likely noticed the contrast of Salah's initial score against Djibouti last Wednesday. Drilled immediately with the exterior of his left foot inside the front post, his eighth goal of the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an nearly the same spot to his big mistake in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that right-foot effort been scored shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would even now be praising the new signing's first sublime pass in the Premier League. Analyses into Salah's decline and the team's infrequent defeat streak might as well have been postponed. Instead, the midfielder's search persists while Slot broods over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple caused by late goals and another the result of a disputed penalty. Narrow differences, as he emphasized on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was key in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th league title the previous term while speculation over his long-term plans persisted in the backdrop. We extracted almost the best out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his leading striker signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a obvious decline on an personal and team level since. The squad, not the terms of a contract, are to blame.

Performance Drop

His output in terms of scores and assists is lower half on the corresponding stage the prior campaign, from a combined 8 in the initial seven matches of last season to four (a pair of goals and two assists) the current campaign. The count of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while accurate shots have dropped from fifteen to five, leading to a sharp drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, data show.

One attribute that has stayed stable is his creativity. With twelve opportunities made, versus fourteen at the equivalent point of last term, his numbers are among the best in the continent and comparable in the company of young talents and rising stars, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years respectively.

Team Performance

Indicators of collective performance will worry Slot more. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy penalty area in the opening seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's count is 39. These figures are symptomatic of the team's problems as a whole. Just United and Arsenal have taken more attempts on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's proportion of attempts from inside the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the highest. The club's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is as well among the poorest in the league.

“In the first half of last season we mainly scored from a special moment from an attacker and in the second half it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “This season we have not seen as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from open play generates the most quality opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They are not punishing opponents in the fashion Slot envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while Liverpool remain the division's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on the weekend would be sufficient for Slot to achieve the 100-point total in less games than any coach in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Imagine what his attack will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a squad of supreme individual quality, able to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but cohesion is missing. This cannot be attributed on the recent arrivals alone.

Personal and Team Issues

Salah is not the sole key member to suffer a dip, with the midfielder working his way back to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the heart of the turmoil that has of late engulfed the club. This goes to a individual level, with his grief over the death of Diogo Jota obvious on that emotional season opener against Bournemouth. The influence of Jota's loss can not be measured nor dismissed.

Strategic Adjustments

Previously, he