Florian Wirtz is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in the early weeks of the season. The young playmaker has yet to find the back of the net or set up a goal in his first three Premier League outings for Liverpool. With a mere four shots, four chances created, three successful dribbles and just ten touches in the opponent’s box, scrutiny from critics persists, even as Wirtz joined up with the German national team. “What’s wrong with Florian Wirtz?” queried BILD.
In a match Germany would rather forget a humbling 2-0 defeat to Slovakia Wirtz’s anonymity on the pitch was keenly felt. The loss left Julian Nagelsmann’s squad astonishingly bottom of Group A, sitting below Luxembourg. Much to the chagrin of fans and pundits, Wirtz’s outputs were underwhelming.
Nagelsmann lamented his team’s lack of “emotionality” on the field, signalling a potential shift towards selecting players based on passion and effort rather than pure technical skill. “Maybe we really do need to rely less on quality and instead on players who just give everything, because that would have led to better results today than if the best players played,” he stated. Whether this was a veiled critique of Wirtz is debatable, but the image of Wirtz confronting Ondrej Duda instead of fighting to regain possession after losing the ball in the lead-up to Slovakia’s opener won’t earn him any favours with the German gaffer.
Aside from a brief moment of brilliance, where he crafted an opportunity forcing Martin Dubravka into a save, Wirtz was described as “almost invisible” by BILD.
Sport1’s analysis of Wirtz’s performance a mediocre 70% pass accuracy, a game-high eight duels lost and a mere 20 percent dribble success rate suggests his unremarkable display went “completely under the radar,” a sentiment that aligns with his subdued start in the Premier League.
Despite Liverpool’s perfect start with three victories, Wirtz’s contributions have been muted. His most promising outing came against Arsenal, but it was his competition for a spot, Dominik Szoboszlai, who delivered the decisive moments.
After being substituted late on in what could have been his first full 90 minutes in a Liverpool jersey, manager Arne Slot commented on the midweek substitution, describing it as a “Welcome to the Premier League” moment. “It wasn’t an injury. It was a welcome to the Premier League,” Slot remarked. “After 85 minutes, I don’t think he knew he could have cramp in so many different places. That’s what happened.”
Wirtz’s form, following a £100m move, might simply reflect his struggle to acclimatise to the Premier League’s pace and physical demand, perhaps leading to his fatigue seen during international duty. With such a high premium on physicality in this league, as Arne Slot seeks answers for his team’s newfound vulnerabilities compared to last season, the source of concern may well be the fatigued yet talented £100m summer arrives staring back at him.
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