It's been a while, but Mohamed Salah returned taking on the lead part last week with two goals in Morocco that sealed Egypt's place at the 2026 World Cup. The star taking the spotlight yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.
There exist many reasons why unsteady, lackluster displays have been the recurring theme characterizing Liverpool's opening to their title defence, if they produced a winning streak or, prior to Manchester United's arrival to Liverpool's home ground on the weekend, three losses in a row. The disruption from so many summer changes, Arne Slot's hunt for his top team, the late forward's passing; Salah has endured the effect of them all during his uncharacteristically low-key start to the season.
Sunday's showpiece occasion could offer the catalyst for the origin of a impressive 16 strikes in 17 games for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not won at their archrivals for more than nine years. The attacker will pose Slot with an additional unexpected problem, though, should he remain lost in the upheaval much longer.
The team's head coach likely recognized the paradox of the player's opening strike against Djibouti last Wednesday. Swept first time with the outside of his left foot into the front post, Salah's eighth strike of Egypt's qualifying effort came from an nearly the same spot to his expensive error against Chelsea before the international break.
Had that shot with his right been converted shortly after the resumption at Chelsea's ground we would even now be praising the new signing's maiden excellent pass in the league. Discussions into Salah's drop and Liverpool's unusual defeat streak might also have been avoided. Rather, the midfielder's search persists while Slot broods over a third consecutive defeat away, a couple inflicted by late goals and one the result of a disputed penalty. Small margins, as Slot emphasized on Friday, but they do not camouflage bigger issues.
The forward was key in propelling Liverpool towards a record-equalling 20th crown the previous term while uncertainty over his career persisted in the background. “We brought almost the utmost out of Mo that campaign,” said the manager when his main attacker signed a fresh deal in the spring. There has been a noticeable decrease on an personal and collective level from then. The lineup, not the details of a contract, are to blame.
His production in terms of scores and setups is reduced 50% on the corresponding point last season, from a combined eight in the initial seven league games of 2024-25 to four (two goals and a couple of assists) this season. The count of attempts has fallen from 22 to 12 while efforts on goal have dropped from 15 to five, leading to a significant decline in conversion rate (excluding blocks) from 78.9% to 55.6%, figures show.
A particular skill that has held more steady is his creativity. With 12 key passes, versus 14 at the equivalent point of last term, his figures remain among the top in the continent and comparable in the ranks of Lamine Yamal and rising stars, his younger counterparts by 15 and thirteen years each.
Indicators of team output will trouble the coach additionally. Salah had seventy-six contacts in the enemy penalty area in the first seven matches of the previous term. This term's count is thirty-nine. The stats are symptomatic of the squad's difficulties overall. Only United and Arsenal have attempted a greater number of shots on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's percentage of attempts from inside the six-yard area is the lowest in the division, their percentage from distance among the highest. Liverpool's percentage of accurate shots – 28.4 percent – is also among the poorest in the league.
During the initial phase of the previous campaign we primarily found the net from a special moment from an attacker and in the later stage it was more from a set piece,” Slot said. “This season we haven’t had as many acts of brilliance and we have not found the net from dead balls. But we are nonetheless the side that from general play generates the highest xG chances.”
They are not beating opponents in the fashion the coach planned when Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while Liverpool are the league's joint third-highest scorers. A draw on the weekend would be enough for him to reach the 100-point mark in fewer games than any coach in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Consider what his forward line will do when it finally gels. The side remain a team of supreme skill, capable of starting and reeling in any foe for the title, but unity is absent. This cannot be blamed on the recent arrivals only.
The player is not the sole key member to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and the defender laboring. But he finds himself at the center of the turmoil that has lately affected Liverpool. This applies to a personal level, with his sadness over the loss of Jota clear on that heartfelt season opener against the Cherries. The influence of Jota's loss can not be quantified nor dismissed.
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