Liverpool somehow managed to scrape a 4-2 win over Bournemouth in their opening game of the Premier League season.
The Anfield outfit were on the back foot for the vast majority of the second half, with there even being times when it felt like Liverpool could end up losing the clash.
Indeed, Hugo Ekitike made a good name for himself during his Anfield debut, but some of the Reds’ other newbies weren’t so lucky.
Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
And with this in mind, there was one player who looked like he was “struggling” to Stephen Warnock.
Stephen Warnock believes Florian Wirtz needs to step up his game
As mentioned, a fair few of Liverpool’s new players made their Anfield debuts on Friday.
And, while some put in a decent shift, most of them looked out of place.
While live on BBC Radio Five Live, in quotes summarised by BBC Sport, Warnock gave his thoughts on Florian Wirtz’s performance.
“The one player that I have noticed that is struggling a bit, but he needs to get up to the speed and the physicality of the play is Florian Wirtz,” he said.
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“You are looking at him thinking, he just needs to be aware of players coming off his shoulder and nicking the ball off him.
“The game is a lot quicker here than in the Bundesliga.”
Florian Wirtz holds the ball during Liverpool's Community Shield match against Crystal Palace at Wembley
Photo by Paul Harding – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Liverpool need to get their act together as soon as possible
Even though Liverpool left Anfield with all three points on Friday, it’s clear that they still have a lot of work to do.
As mentioned, Ekitike has fit in seamlessly, but others still have a lot of catching up to do.
In fact, even some of their longest-serving players, such as Ibrahima Konate, left an awful lot to be desired during their first Premier League game of the 2025-26 season.
There’s no hiding from the fact that Arne Slot will want to retain the top-flight title this term, but if the Reds perform like they did for most of the second half, there’s not a chance that they’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with teams such as Manchester City.
There are still over two weeks left in the summer transfer window, and with the way things have panned out during Liverpool’s first two games of the season, it would be a massive shock to not see any more new faces brought in.