Mohammed Salah has been Liverpool's pride and joy for the last eight years, but his start to the 2025/26 season has been less than perfect.
In the Premier League last season, he scored 29 goals in 38 appearances and showed no signs of slowing down.
But the winger hasn't been able to hit the target this season.
He was left out of Arne Slot's starting XI on October 22 for their Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt. He made an appearance in the last 15 minutes and despite chances, Salah was unable to get on the score sheet.
That brings that talisman's tally of games without goals up to six - but Liverpool took a 5-1 in Germany, somewhat making up for their 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Anfield just days before.
The 33 year old missed key chances during that game, notably to score an equaliser in front of the kop.
Salah isn't the only one who seems to be struggling. The reigning League champions overall haven't looked their best.
Before their Champions League victory, they were four games defeated in all competitions - ironically with 2-1 losses in all three Premier League games against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Slot has been under-pressure to make a change and return to the form of the previous season and putting Salah on the bench could've been a key part in that.
The Liverpool boss made brave new decisions with a 4-2-2-2 line up, pairing Alexander Isak with Hugo Ekitike for the first time in attack.
It paid off as they returned to winning ways and now begs the question if Salah will stay on the bench when they travel to Brentford on Saturday October 25.
The Egyptian international signed a new contract to stay at the club for another two years, despite believing it would be his final season at Liverpool.
It's an unusual drop-off in performance for Salah, and his confidence is being called into question. Being kept on the bench could be another hit to his confidence, but it could also make him work harder to get back to goal scoring ways.
Considering The Red's performance against Frankfurt, it's only fair to assume that Slot will stick to the same if not similar line-up, with Salah potentially on the bench once again when they go to West London.
However, Isak's latest injury blow could give Salah the chance to show the club that he's still got what it takes to score goals.
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