Florian Wirtz on the ground.
Florian Wirtz on the ground.
Liverpool turned in a strong performance against Manchester City before Ryan Gravenberch's red card saw the team overpowered and fall to a 3-0 defeat.
An injury-depleted squad was without star forwards Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, while key midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai also missed out with a hamstring injury. Andoni Iraola went with as strong a side as he could, with young forward Lewis Koumas impressing from the start, while flanked by Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola, and Victor Munoz in attack.
Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister were in the midfield to provide support, and the home side did well to compete with a strong Man City side before the Netherlands star was shown a controversial red card after two questionable yellows.
Goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki then blew the hosts away, and Germany international Wirtz was heavily criticised after the game for his performance.
Liverpool fans are growing frustrated with the 23-year-old, who was signed for £116m from Bayer Leverkusen two summers ago, for a serious lack of performances to match the price tag.
In the first half, Wirtz struggled to shoot enough and make the most of opportunities in transition, while in the second half there was a clear chance for him to play the ball wide and create a big opportunity, but he opted to shoot instead. The frustrations of his teammates were there for all to see too, as they threw their hands in the air and questioned his decision-making.
The playmaker has been a glorious waste of money so far at Anfield, and Liverpool's squad has had heavy investment, which makes it even harder for many to digest.
But it's fair to say that he is not the only one, and Liverpool have seemingly wasted some big money on yet another star after what we have seen so far this season.
Is Barcola a Big Waste of Money Too?
Liverpool's Bradley Barcola looks on before Atletico Madrid
Liverpool's Bradley Barcola looks on before Atletico Madrid
Barcola was the biggest marquee signing of the summer for the Reds, with Liverpool spending £123m to bring the France international in from Paris Saint-Germain as their main replacement for Mohamed Salah.
But since joining, he has been very underwhelming. The 24-year-old has racked up 336 minutes of action across four starts and two substitute appearances, but is yet to register a goal or assist in the famous red shirt.
Against Man City though, the performance was more worrying than the lack of output. He seemed hesitant to take on his full-back regularly, often played the safe pass, and never looked to be too much of a threat to the City defence. Jamie Carragher was quick to make it clear that what he's seeing isn't good enough, too.
"Liverpool have paid top dollar, and they're getting nowhere near what they should be getting," he said.
"I came into the game as a Liverpool fan today and I'm thinking there's no Isak no Gakpo, our two best attackers this season. We need Barcola and Florian Wirtz to step up and really help Munoz and Koumas at the top end of the pitch. Koumas and Munoz were better than the two £100m players. That can't be right. It's just not right.
If Barcola isn't going to step up in the coming weeks of the season, then Reds fans should be very worried about the fact they have spent the best part of a quarter of a billion pounds on two players, and are getting nothing back for it.
Ryan Gravenberch in action for Liverpool
Ryan Gravenberch in action for Liverpool