A closer look at the situation surrounding Florian Wirtz, who sparkled against Real Madrid but then was suffocated against Man City
Florian Wirtz shakes hands with Arne Slot as he leaves the field after being substituted during the Champions League match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield
Florian Wirtz shakes hands with Arne Slot as he leaves the field after being substituted during the Champions League match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield
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It has been a turbulent ride for Liverpool’s marquee signing of the summer, Florian Wirtz, to say the least. A team that is one of the hardest for any new player to make their mark on is always an exceptionally challenging task, after all.
Last Tuesday’s imperious performance to a man from Liverpool cemented a classic 1-0 win against perennial European rivals Real Madrid. From the first minute until the very last the feeling around the stadium was nothing but optimism for the return of form for the English champions - and Wirtz was central to that.
However, Sunday’s defeat to a dominant Manchester City side, who now look like they are back in the hunt to reclaim the title again, made it seem like the £116m arrival from Bayer Leverkusen was nowhere to be seen.
This was down to the clever and cunning plan set in place by City coach Pep Guardiola, who had seemed to be telekinetically controlling two to three of his players at a time to suffocate Wirtz’s left-wing position. What was a wide position thoroughly owned by the player against Real, quickly turned into a blue mist in which he was lost.
Finding one’s feet can be tough for any top-class player at a top-class club, but it is no secret that the Germany international has found life in English football a demanding challenge.
But it is a challenge he is now rising to and there were still some flashes of brilliance. Relentlessly taking players on and causing not one but two City players to be carded.
The win over Real saw Wirtz begin to flourish in a new position in Arne Slot’s setup, causing Los Blancos chaos on the left flank rather than a central position, which was taken up by Dominik Szoboszlai.
So it was only right to keep the same line-up to take to Manchester. Although facing a coach like Pep, nothing is ever transparent. The Catalan, who has dominated Spanish, German and now English football, once again proved his x-ray vision and saw right through each tactic Liverpool had in store.
Among exploiting other players such as Ibrahima Konate to be hounded on by his relentless City attack for the full match, Guardiola had halted Wirtz’s every move in the first half. He was unable to influence any of the attacks, unlike the game prior, where we saw him being a constant support for Szoboszlai, continuously winning the ball back and hunting the Real defence down in the manner of Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino from the Liverpool of old.
As for his numbers, the 22-year-old laid down an underwhelming performance statistically. During the 83 minutes he was on for, the Reds No.7 was unable to create a single chance in the game, apart from two blocked shots, as opposed to his form in the Champions League in midweek, when he created just as many chances as the whole Madrid side in the first half with five.
The worry now, which is certainly amplified from outside voices, is that because he has failed to register a goal or an assist in any of the opening 11 games of the Premier League season, suggests that he may lose the starting place he had gained after the run of form he produced in the Champions League.
After the City game on Sky Sports, co-commentator Gary Neville stamped Wirtz’s form down as “a problem” and that it was a real worry that he was not proving his worth.
Neville’s blunt labelling made his feelings clear about the players, just a few months into his Liverpool career, stating that he will need to stand up to the fast and physical task of English football sooner or later.
This was a polar opposite complaint of the head coach of the German national team, Julian Nagelsmann, who claimed that Wirtz “does create a few chances. It is just that they somehow do not like to put the ball in, from those chances”, and that Slot’s side are letting their new boy down.
Two arguments on either side, both of which can be fairly debated, too. However, Nagelsmann jumping to his countryman’s defence with the claim that “Liverpool could also help him out” now suggests that going into yet another international break, he will prove the worth and clinical qualities that Wirtz has to offer is Slot’s mistake, a bold tee he has set up himself.
Since Colombian star Luis Diaz left for the Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, Cody Gakpo has, so far, made the wide left of the attack his own. With Wirtz now slowly but surely beginning to showcase his abilities, Slot now has more of a headache to work not just on who to start but the tactics set in place. As a tactic that will work for the Dutch winger will not work with the German, evidently.
There is an awful long way to go in the season, it is a marathon and not a sprint after all. The international break sees Germany play away to Luxembourg and in Leipzig to Slovakia in the final two games of the World Cup Qualifiers.
This gives Slot the time needed to get the ball rolling again and, in response to Julian Nagelsmann, rolling towards the direction of the opposition net this time.