**Liverpool secured their second Premier League win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.**
Alexander Isak scored the solitary goal of the game in the second half as he slammed the ball home from close range after a brilliant bit of play from Cody Gakpo on the right flank.
Florian Wirtz was credited with the assist for the goal after he touched the ball in the passage of play.
However, the German struggled once again as he was substituted in the second half.
And Andoni Iraola feels Wirtz overcame a slow start to the game and helped his side improve after a hard-fought win on the south coast.
“It was a slow start but after the first phase Florian helped us to improve and I am much happier with his performance in the second half,” said the Spaniard via the [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/live/cm780vzql09qt#LiveReporting) when asked about Wirtz.
Iraola has defended the 22-year-old, but his first-half performance was nowhere near the expected standard.
Wirtz struggled to get into the game and misplaced a handful of simple passes. In fact, it wouldn’t be going too far to brand him as a net negative before the interval as he endured one of his worst-ever spells as a Liverpool player.
The talent is obvious and unquestionable, but Wirtz really needs to pull up his socks and deliver for Liverpool as his current performances aren’t close to meeting the standard.