Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz
In many ways, it felt as though 115 days had passed by the time that Manchester City travelled to Anfield to square off against Liverpool on Sunday.
Between the start and end of the international break, what was first the renewal of a rivalry in a new era of managers soon became a game centred around past, now controversial glory.
Liverpool vs Man City
Liverpool vs Man City
Anfield awaited a spectacle and many were expecting revenge after Man City's charges were confirmed by the Premier League. And up until Ryan Gravenberch's red card, they looked on course to get just that. With Andoni Iraola's side down to 10 men, however, it quickly became the Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki show.
Several questions have emerged since that defeat. Some have once again centred around Man City's charges and whether their Anfield thrashing would even mean anything this time in May. Others have centred around Florian Wirtz and his failure to make his mark for the umpteenth time.
"I’m sorry to say this, Florian Wirtz, it’s not working and it hasn’t worked so far. Ryan Gravenberch should not be sitting on the bench and Florian Wirtz playing for Liverpool." (Jamie Carragher)
The German is getting tougher and tougher to defend for even the most optimistic of Liverpool fans. Whilst Victor Munoz and academy graduate Lewis Koumas showed a spark against world-class quality, Wirtz once again went missing.
The biggest concern for Iraola is that the former Bayer Leverkusen man is actually having less influence than last season, when he was highly criticised by some who were expecting more.
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Florian Wirtz P90 percentiles 25/26 26/27
Box touches 95% 60.7%
Chances 90% 70.4%
Assists 50% 75%
Goals 45% 16.1%
Those are damning numbers for a player who cost Liverpool as much as £116m more than 12 months ago. He has had his period to settle and he has been handed patience by those watching on at Anfield, but now Iraola must make a brutal decision against LASK.
Iraola must axe Wirtz and start fresh midfield trio
trey-nyoni-liverpool
The results are yet to arrive for Iraola, who would have been more disappointed than anyone over how Man City's trip to Anfield ended on Sunday. But what he does deserve credit for is how he has not hesitated to make the big calls.
The decision to start Ronald Araujo over Jeremie Frimpong following the latter's poor start proved pivotal before the international break. Liverpool enjoyed their best run of consecutive clean sheets (3) since their title-winning campaign under Arne Slot.
Now, the new Reds boss must act with the same ruthlessness and drop Wirtz against LASK, handing Trey Nyoni, Alexis Mac-Allister and Ryan Gravenberch their first-ever start as a midfield combination.
Nyoni has been on the cusp of a starting place all season. One of the most promising factors of Iraola's tenure has been how he has used young players, especially when considering how Slot was criticised for failing to do the same.
With Wirtz struggling and Dominik Szoboszlai, the 19-year-old should get his second start of the season and first in the Champions League.
The combination of the teenager with Mac Allister and Gravenberch is certainly promising on paper, too. Once upon a time, it was Mac Allister who thrived in an advanced role at Brighton - scoring 12 goals in his final season at the club. Nyoni's emergence should allow the South American to step into that same role in Liverpool colours.
Gravenberch would also have a further license to fly forward. The midfielder was guilty of leaving his deep role earlier in the campaign, before losing his place to Mac Allister. Liverpool were crying out of a player willing to distribute from deep and dictate tempo. Nyoni would do exactly that.
In his only start so far this season, Nyoni's passing ability was particularly on show - completing 95% of his passes. To contextualise that performance, Gravenberch has not shown the same discipline - completing 86.3% of his passes.
Rayan Cherki (Man City) and Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)
Rayan Cherki (Man City) and Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)