Mohamed Salah Needs Return to Center Stage for Anfield's Grand Show

It has been a period, but Mohamed Salah reappeared playing the lead part last week with a double in Casablanca that secured Egypt's spot at the 2026 World Cup. The star stepping on center stage yet again. Liverpool need him to remain there.

Factors for Inconsistent Showings

There exist many causes why inconsistent, lackluster showings have been the common thread running through the team's opening to their title defence, whether they recorded a winning streak or, before the Red Devils' visit to Anfield on the weekend, a losing run. The disruption from multiple new signings, the coach's quest for his best XI, Diogo Jota's tragic death; Salah has experienced the effect of them all during his atypically quiet start to the term.

Sunday's Key Fixture

Sunday's big match could provide the catalyst for the cause of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 appearances for Liverpool against Manchester United, who are paying their 100th visit to the stadium and have not succeeded at their archrivals for more than nine years. Salah will pose Slot with a further unexpected problem, though, should he stay lost in the disruption indefinitely.

Current Form

Liverpool's head coach likely seen the irony of the player's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Struck directly with the outside of his stronger foot into the close post, his eighth score of the national team's qualification run originated from an very similar location to his expensive error versus Chelsea prior to the national team pause.

Had that attempt been scored moments after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be celebrating the new signing's maiden sublime assist in the English top flight. Analyses into his drop and Liverpool's unusual losing streak might as well have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's wait persists while Slot broods over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple caused by last-minute winners and another the outcome of a debatable penalty. Narrow differences, as he reiterated on Friday, but they do not mask larger problems.

Previous Campaign's Influence

Salah was instrumental in pushing the side towards a tying 20th crown the previous term while doubt over his long-term plans persisted in the backdrop. We extracted almost the utmost out of Mo this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed an extension in the spring. We have seen a noticeable decline on an individual and team level since. The squad, not the details of a contract, are to blame.

Performance Decrease

The 33-year-old's production in terms of scores and setups is reduced half on the corresponding point the previous term, from a combined eight in the opening seven fixtures of 2024-25 to 4 (a pair of goals and a couple of assists) this term. His tally of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have fallen from 15 to 5, leading to a sharp decline in conversion rate (not counting blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, data show.

A single trait that has remained consistent is his chance creation. With 12 key passes, versus 14 at the comparable period of the previous season, his figures are among the best in the continent and comparable in the company of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his juniors by 15 and 13 years respectively.

Team Display

Metrics of team display will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had seventy-six touches in the enemy box in the opening seven fixtures of last season. This season's total is 39. The numbers are reflective of the squad's difficulties overall. Just United and Arsenal have taken a greater number of attempts on goal than them in the current term, but the team's rate of shots from within the six-yard box is the poorest in the top flight, their share from outside the area among the top. The club's proportion of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the weakest in the competition.

“In the first half of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from an individual brilliance from one of our front three and in the later stage it was mostly from a dead ball,” the manager said. “Now we haven’t had as many moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the team that from open play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”

Summer Arrivals

They aren't hurting rivals in the way the coach planned when Wirtz, the French forward and the Swedish striker were signed recently, though the team are the division's equal third-top scorers. A draw on Sunday would be sufficient for him to reach the 100-point mark in less games than any boss in the club's history (46). Imagine what his offense will do when it finally gels. The side are still a team of supreme skill, capable of starting and reeling in any foe for the championship, but cohesion is missing. That cannot be attributed on the summer recruits by themselves.

Individual and Collective Issues

Salah is not the sole established player to suffer a dip, with Alexis Mac Allister working his way back to match sharpness and the defender struggling. But he is at the core of the disruption that has recently engulfed Liverpool. This extends to a individual level, with his sorrow over the death of Jota evident on that heartfelt opening night against the Cherries. The effect of his tragedy can neither be measured nor ignored.

Strategic Changes

In the prior campaign, he