Arne Slot sent a shockwave through Anfield on Saturday by dropping £100m man Florian Wirtz for the Merseyside derby. The German wonderkid had just delivered his best display yet against Atletico Madrid, but when Everton came to town, he was sat on the bench. Slot explained it as a matter of priorities, calling the derby the fiercest test of the week and shaping his line-up around it.
It was the first time Wirtz had been left out and it told its own story. Liverpool’s new boss knows he cannot keep rolling out the same eleven. Rotation is essential. Yet his choice of replacements revealed plenty. Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai were restored, the midfield that powered Liverpool to glory last season. In doing so, Slot highlighted the problem Wirtz presents. He is not a like-for-like piece. He disrupts the balance of a tried and trusted trio.
Against Atletico, Wirtz sparkled with five chances created from his favoured No 10 role, but the price was fragility. Liverpool have blown three 2-0 leads already and leaked nine goals in seven games. Slot wants control as much as creativity. Even with Mac Allister back on, Atletico still scored, and Everton found a way through at Anfield too. But there was a hint of stability, with Curtis Jones brought on in midfield while Wirtz was shunted wide left.
For now, Gravenberch is undroppable. Virgil van Dijk hailed him as “in the form of his life.” Szoboszlai, meanwhile, has been Liverpool’s standout, a machine with and without the ball, offering steel as well as flair. Both cover ground, both cover for Mohamed Salah defensively. Wirtz, by contrast, is learning to graft in ways he never had to at Leverkusen.
The raw numbers are unforgiving. Seven of Liverpool’s 14 goals in Europe and the league have come with Wirtz off the pitch. He has only been involved in one assist since the Community Shield. Slot insists it will take time, but the dilemma is clear. In the biggest battles, will he trust the power of his old guard, or gamble on the talent of his £100m playmaker?
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