It has been a period, but Liverpool's forward returned playing the starring role last week with two goals in Morocco that secured the Egyptian team's position at the 2026 World Cup. The key player taking center stage yet again. The Merseyside club must have him to keep that position.
We see several causes why inconsistent, unimpressive showings have been the frequent pattern characterizing Liverpool's start to their championship defense, if they achieved seven straight victories or, before Manchester United's trip to Anfield on Sunday, a losing run. The upheaval from numerous summer changes, Arne Slot's quest for his best XI, the late forward's tragic death; Salah has endured the consequences of them all during his uncharacteristically subdued beginning to the season.
The weekend's key fixture could deliver the spark for the cause of a impressive 16 goals in 17 outings for Liverpool against United, who are paying their 100th appearance to the stadium and have not won at their archrivals for over nine years. The attacker will create Slot with another surprise issue, though, should he continue caught in the disruption for an extended period.
The team's boss likely recognized the paradox of the player's first goal against Djibouti recently. Drilled directly with the exterior of his stronger foot into the close post, Salah's eighth score of Egypt's qualifying effort came from an almost identical location to his big mistake versus Chelsea before the national team pause.
Had that shot with his right been finished shortly after the resumption at Stamford Bridge we would still be eulogising Florian Wirtz's maiden sublime setup in the English top flight. Analyses into Salah's dip and Liverpool's infrequent losing run might as well have been avoided. Rather, Wirtz's search continues while Slot broods over a third loss on the road, a couple caused by late goals and another the result of a disputed penalty. Fine lines, as Slot reiterated on recently, but they do not mask underlying concerns.
Salah was key in propelling Liverpool towards a tying 20th crown last season while doubt over his future persisted in the backdrop. “We brought almost the best out of Salah this season,” said Slot when his top scorer signed a new two‑year contract in April. We have seen a obvious decline on an personal and collective level since. The squad, not the terms of a deal, are responsible.
The 33-year-old's contribution in terms of scores and assists is lower 50% on the same point the previous term, from a combined eight in the first seven league games of last season to 4 (two goals and two assists) this season. His tally of shots has fallen from 22 to 12 while shots on target have dropped from fifteen to 5, contributing to a steep drop in shot accuracy (not counting blocks) from 78.9 percent to 55.6%, statistics show.
A particular skill that has stayed stable is his chance creation. With 12 key passes, compared with fourteen at the comparable period of the previous season, his stats remain among the top in the continent and up in the group of Lamine Yamal and Arda Güler, his juniors by fifteen and 13 years each.
Metrics of collective output will concern the coach more. He had 76 contacts in the enemy box in the initial seven league games of the previous term. The current campaign's tally is thirty-nine. The numbers are indicative of the squad's difficulties in general. Only United and Arsenal have attempted more shots on goal than Liverpool now, but the team's percentage of attempts from within the six-yard area is the smallest in the top flight, their percentage from outside the area among the highest. The club's percentage of shots on target – 28.4% – is also among the poorest in the competition.
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 mostly from a set piece,” the manager said. “This season we haven’t had as numerous moments of genius and we haven’t scored from set pieces. But we are nonetheless the side that from general play produces the most expected goals opportunities.”
They aren't beating foes in the way the coach envisaged when Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké and the Swedish striker were brought on board in the offseason, while Liverpool stay the league's equal third-top scorers. A tie on the weekend would be enough for him to achieve the century of points in fewer games than any manager in Liverpool's past (forty-six). Think what his forward line will do when it clicks. Liverpool remain a squad of supreme skill, equipped to igniting and chasing any rival for the championship, but cohesion is lacking. That cannot be pinned on the summer recruits by themselves.
Salah is not the only established player to suffer a drop-off, with Alexis Mac Allister returning to form and the defender struggling. But he finds himself at the core of the upheaval that has recently engulfed the club. That applies to a individual level, with his grief over the loss of Diogo Jota obvious on that poignant first game against Bournemouth. The influence of his loss can not be measured nor dismissed.
Last season, he
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