🔗 Share this article

It has been a period, but the Egyptian star was back playing the main part recently with a brace in Casablanca that sealed Egypt's position at the upcoming World Cup. The main man taking center stage once more. The Reds require him to remain there.

Reasons for Inconsistent Performances

There are several factors why inconsistent, lackluster showings have been the frequent pattern defining the team's start to their league defense, whether they achieved seven wins in a row or, prior to Manchester United's trip to Liverpool's home ground on Sunday, a losing run. The turmoil from multiple offseason moves, the coach's search for his top team, the late forward's tragic death; the winger has experienced the consequences of them all during his unusually quiet opening to the term.

The Weekend's Key Fixture

Sunday's big match could deliver the spark for the origin of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for the club against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not succeeded at their fierce rivals for almost a decade. Salah will present the manager with a further unexpected problem, though, should he remain caught in the turmoil indefinitely.

Current Display

The team's boss likely seen the contrast of the player's opening strike against Djibouti recently. Drilled first time with the outside of his stronger foot inside the close post, his eighth goal of Egypt's World Cup qualifying campaign was from an nearly the same location to his big mistake in the Chelsea match before the international break.

If that attempt been scored shortly after the restart at Stamford Bridge we would still be praising Florian Wirtz's first superb pass in the league. Analyses into his decline and Liverpool's rare losing run might as well have been avoided. Instead, the midfielder's wait goes on while the coach broods over a third consecutive loss on the road, a couple inflicted by dying-minute strikes and one the outcome of a debatable penalty. Small margins, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.

Last Season's Contribution

The forward was crucial in pushing the side towards a record-equalling 20th championship the prior campaign while uncertainty over his career persisted in the background. We achieved almost the maximum out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decline on an personal and collective level since. The team, not the details of a deal, are responsible.

Statistical Drop

His production in terms of scores and setups is lower half on the corresponding stage last season, from a total eight in the initial seven league games of last season to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has decreased from twenty-two to 12 while shots on target have dropped from fifteen to 5, causing a steep drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.

A particular skill that has remained consistent is his playmaking. With twelve key passes, versus 14 at the same stage of last term, his figures stay among the finest in the continent and up in the group of young talents and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and thirteen years each.

Team Output

Measures of team output will concern Slot more. He had seventy-six touches in the opposition box in the opening seven league games of the previous term. This season's total is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the team's difficulties as a whole. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have tried a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool now, but Liverpool'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 greatest. Liverpool's percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the lowest in the competition.

“In the first half of last season we primarily found the net from a moment of magic from an attacker and in the later stage it was mostly from a set piece,” Slot said. “Currently we have not seen as many acts of brilliance and we haven’t scored from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the team that from general play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

Recent Additions

They aren't punishing opponents in the way the coach envisaged when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were signed recently, while the team are the league's equal third-top goalscorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any manager in the club's history (forty-six). Imagine what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool are still a team of exceptional skill, capable of starting and reeling in any rival for the championship, but unity is absent. That cannot be attributed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Personal and Team Challenges

Salah is not the only key player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and Ibrahima Konaté laboring. But he ends up at the core of the turmoil that has of late engulfed Liverpool. This goes to a personal level, with Salah's sadness over the death of Diogo Jota clear on that heartfelt first game against Bournemouth. The effect of his loss can not be assessed nor dismissed.

Strategic Adjustments

Previously, he