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It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared taking on the starring role last week with two goals in Casablanca that secured the Egyptian team's spot at the global tournament. The main man taking the spotlight another time. The Reds must have him to stay there.

Factors for Variable Displays

We see several reasons why unsteady, lackluster displays have been the recurring theme defining the team's beginning to their championship defense, whether they produced seven wins in a row or, before the Red Devils' arrival to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, three consecutive defeats. The upheaval from so many offseason moves, the coach's hunt for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; the winger has experienced the effect of them all during his unusually subdued opening to the season.

Sunday's Big Match

Sunday's showpiece occasion could deliver the spark for the source of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 outings for the club against Manchester United, who are making their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose the manager with a further unforeseen dilemma, yet, should he remain caught in the upheaval indefinitely.

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Liverpool's boss likely seen the irony of the player's initial score against the opponent last Wednesday. Drilled first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign came from an almost identical location to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the international break.

If that attempt been scored shortly after the restart at Chelsea's ground we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden superb assist in the Premier League. Inquests into Salah's decline and the team's infrequent losing run might also have been postponed. Rather, Wirtz's wait continues while Slot stews over a third loss on the road, a couple due to dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a controversial spot-kick. Narrow differences, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they cannot hide underlying concerns.

Previous Campaign's Contribution

Salah was instrumental in pushing Liverpool towards a tying 20th championship last season while uncertainty over his future lingered in the backdrop. “We brought almost the utmost out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in April. There has been a clear decrease on an personal and collective level from then. The team, not the terms of a deal, are accountable.

Statistical Drop

His contribution in terms of scores and assists is down 50% on the corresponding stage the previous term, from a combined eight in the opening seven matches of last season to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. His number of attempts has fallen from 22 to twelve while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to five, leading to a steep drop in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6 percent, data show.

A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With 12 key passes, compared with 14 at the equivalent point of last campaign, his numbers are among the top in Europe and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Collective Output

Indicators of team output will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had 76 touches in the enemy penalty area in the first seven league games of last season. This term's count is thirty-nine. These figures are reflective of the squad's problems overall. Just Manchester United and Arsenal have tried more shots on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's proportion of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the division, their percentage from long range among the top. Liverpool's percentage of efforts on goal – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we mostly found the net from a moment of magic from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a free-kick or corner,” Slot said. “Currently we haven’t had as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are still the side that from general play produces the highest quality opportunities.”

New Signings

They are not beating foes in the fashion the coach imagined when Florian Wirtz, the French forward and Alexander Isak were brought on board in the offseason, though Liverpool remain the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A tie on Sunday would be enough for Slot to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any coach in Liverpool's past (46). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. Liverpool remain a team of outstanding talent, equipped to igniting and catching any rival for the title, but cohesion is absent. This cannot be blamed on the summer recruits alone.

Individual and Collective Challenges

The player is not the sole key member to suffer a dip, with the midfielder returning to form and the defender struggling. But he ends up at the heart of the disruption that has of late affected Liverpool. This applies to a personal level, with his sorrow over the loss of Diogo Jota clear on that emotional season opener against the Cherries. The effect of his tragedy can neither be assessed nor dismissed.

Tactical Adjustments

Last season, he