Florian Wirtz will come good at Liverpool, he’s already rubbing shoulders with Kylian Mbappe
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(Credit: Imago)
Michael Mongie
Thu 18 September 2025 19:00, UK
Florian Wirtz has been under intense scrutiny since his move to Liverpool but he’s already showing why the Reds were willing to pay £100m to sign him.
Wirtz has been tipped to follow in Moises Caicedo’s footsteps after making the big-money move to the Premier League.
Yet to register a goal or an assist, the German has been heavily criticised for not being worth the money.
Ryan Gravenberch was named Man of the Match for his stunning midfield display in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, while Virgil van Dijk completed the most passes and won the game with his thunderous late header.
Jermaine Pennant said rivals need to be worried about Liverpool as they are yet to hit first gear and have still found a way to win late on in five consecutive games.
When Florian Wirtz hits top form, Liverpool will unlock a new gear both in possession and when attacking in transition, even if he seems below par at the moment.
While Wirtz did not grab an assist against Atletico Madrid in Liverpool’s opening Champions League game of the season, his passing was probing vulnerable areas of the La Liga side’s defence.
As highlighted by journalist Dougie Critchley, only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Slavia Prague’s Lukas Provod created more than the five chances Wirtz provided for his teammates in the opening two nights of the maiden Champions League gameweek.
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Amid all the talk about Wirtz not landing on his feet at Liverpool, it seems more and more as though it’s misplaced.
Before Arne Slot replaced Wirtz with 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, the 22-year-old German was heavily involved and had he been more selfish late on, he might have scored, but the pass he teed up for Mohamed Salah was spun off the inside Jan Oblak’s post.
Wirtz played 74 minutes, creating five chances from his 32 passes.
His tidy work in possession has already become vital to Liverpool’s ability to pile relentless pressure on teams late in games.
Touches74Passes32Pass accuracy84%Key passes5Dribbles 2/5Ground Duels3/9Florian Wirtz stats vs Atletico Madrid
His dribbling was less effective, with only two of his five dribble attempts resulting in a successful take-on.
This is lower than his 49% average success rate last season.
One area that Wirtz does need to improve, based on his Atletico performance, is his ground duel win success rate.
Against Diego Simeone’s men, the former Bayer Leverkusen star only won three of his nine duels on the ground, while it’s no surprise he attempted just one aerial duel without success.
Early criticism of Wirtz is unfounded.