Roberto Firmino, Liverpool's ultimate pressing machine, is seemingly enduring his toughest spell since signing for the club.
The Brazil international is lacking in confidence and Diogo Jota's instant impact has raised questions about who Jurgen Klopp should select to lead the line.
Firmino has been an impervious cog in the Liverpool machine under Klopp's tutelage and widely considered to be the creative hub who ties all of the team's most intricate attacking qualities together.
But that feeling has subsided somewhat in 2020 to the point where his place in the starting XI is now under scrutiny.
A lacklustre performance against Manchester City on Sunday will not have done his cause much help. That he was hauled off in the 59th minute was a telling indicator of his inability to influence the game.
However, while statistics cannot always tell the full story, there is evidence from Firmino's time at Anfield to suggest this current spell is not as a total deviation from the norm.
Indeed, the stats suggest that Firmino is far from a clinical goal scorer and rarely hits the ground running in the early phase of the campaign, nor does he fully utilise his playmaking repertoire.
Using data acquired from Twenty3, we can see how Firmino's stats in Liverpool's first eight league fixtures compare to previous campaigns.
Though he is bereft of confidence and overthinking his game this season - something that is tricky to illuminate through raw numbers alone - the stats do not make for overly grim reading.
Looking at the past four seasons, his return of one goal is his lowest return after eight league games but the difference is relatively insignificant.
From a creative standpoint, meanwhile, Firmino's return of two assists is only one shy of his best return since the start of the 2017/18 season, and his four completed key passes is far from disastrous in comparison to previous campaigns.
Though he should be doing more with his touches inside the penalty area, the fact he has racked up 37 of those this season - more than he managed in his first eight outings in 2017/18 and 2018/19 - indicates that he is still taking up the right positions in opposition territory.
Of course, there is no doubt that Firmino is struggling and the point is not to excuse what has been an underwhelming opening to the season, but rather to prove that his downturn in form is not as alarming as initially meets the eye.
The 29-year-old attacker has established himself as a Klopp favourite since his move from Hoffenheim, consistently earning selection at the spearhead of the attack and commanding effusive praise from his manager along the way.
Back in 2019, the German manager acknowledged Firmino's special blend of qualities, per talkSPORT.
Klopp said: “Being skilled like Bobby is one thing. Mix it up with the attitude he puts in, that’s unbelievable.
“I’m not sure that mixture is there. Skills-wise, being there, passing in between, stuff like that, for sure there are some players, not really a lot but some.
“But to mix those: wow. It’s exceptional.”
Given the level of respect his manager has for Firmino and how his stats from Liverpool's first eight games compare to previous seasons, it's far too soon to write him off as a has-been player or suggest that he has reached the end of an era.
Like all exceptional footballers, Firmino will rise from this difficult spell as a more accomplished player.