Liverpool's £116m star Florian Wirtz scored his first goal in the 2-1 win over Wolves and used a pointed song choice on Instagram to respond to critics including Gary Neville
Florian Wirtz is finally off the mark for Liverpool after scoring in their 2-1 win over Wolves
Florian Wirtz is finally off the mark for Liverpool after scoring in their 2-1 win over Wolves
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Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz has delivered a pointed response to his doubters following his maiden goal in the 2-1 victory against Wolves. The high-profile recruit broke his duck with a calm finish after excellent attacking work from fellow summer recruit Hugo Ekitike.
The 22-year-old turned to Instagram after the match with a series of images, though his music selection seemed somewhat significant. Wirtz chose American rapper Gunna's track 'Made For This S***', appearing to address the intense pressure surrounding his £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Since his Premier League arrival, Wirtz had displayed flashes of brilliance but faced criticism over his end product and adaptation to the speed and strength of the new league. Yet in his latest outings, the German talent has begun to shine as a catalyst in Arne Slot's offensive system.
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On Instagram, Wirtz captioned his post with a red heart emoji, drawing backing from his Liverpool colleagues.
Most responses from his dressing room companions came in emoji form. Ibrahima Konate responded with a face with zipped mouth emoji, potentially a deliberate nod to the scrutiny faced by the £116m star.
Reflecting on the victory, he said: "It was very nice, the feeling on the pitch with the fans around, I was very happy.
"I was confident that I would score one day, I wanted to start scoring and assisting earlier but it was like this, I have to accept it but I just knew that it would come and I had to keep going."
Wirtz's maiden goal arrives just weeks after he contributed significantly to Liverpool's leveller against Sunderland.
The Bundesliga champion's strike took a deflection before finding the net against the Black Cats at the start of the Reds' current unbeaten streak, which now stands at six Premier League fixtures - seven across all competitions - though it was officially recorded as an own goal due to the deflection.
Florian Wirtz of Liverpool celebrates
Florian Wirtz finally netted his first Liverpool goal
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In their most recent outing, Wirtz set up Alexander Isak's opening goal against Tottenham Hotspur, finally registering his first Premier League assist after previously claiming two in the Champions League.
Gary Neville has been among those to question the playmaker's impact since arriving at Liverpool.
The former Manchester United defender was especially scathing of Wirtz after the 3-0 hammering by Manchester City in November, suggesting the German appeared out of his depth against Pep Guardiola's outfit, looking "like a little boy" and labelling him as an issue.
He said: "I thought Wirtz in particular - it was a really bad day for him. We've been tip-toeing around him haven't we, for a few months, around the fact that he's young, coming to a new country.
"But he's £120million, you're going to have to stand up soon. I mean he's obviously got something.
"He's a really good player and technically fantastic, but he's been mauled out there today by [Matheus] Nunes and by others. He's been chucked around the pitch and didn't deliver in the quality side of things either. His performance was a real worry.
"Wirtz is a problem, let's call it what it is. It's an issue. He's £120m and he looked like a little boy out there. It can't be the case. He's a German international of great standing and he looks well short of what you'd expect from a top physical match.
"They've got to get him up to speed and get that tenacity into him that means he can get into form. They've got to stick with him, and persist, but they've got to find a way to get the best out of him."