Echo

Reaction to Florian Wirtz stunner says it all as Liverpool star inspires crucial Germany win

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Florian Wirtz during Germany's win over Northern Ireland(Image: Getty Images)

Florian Wirtz is up and running for the season - scoring his first competitive goal since moving to Anfield.

The playmaker scored Germany's third goal in a 3-1 victory against Northern Ireland as Julian Nagelsmann’s side bounced back from a defeat in Slovakia.

Serge Gnabry and Nadiem Amiri had scored either side of Isaac Price’s equaliser for the visitors before Wirtz stood over a free-kick 18 minutes from time.



His sensational strike gave goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell no chance - much to the delight of fans on social media.



“Absolute stunner goal from Flo, now he better line [up] for free kicks so we see more of those goals from him,” one Liverpool fan wrote on Instagram.

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“Silenced all the haters,” wrote another.

Wirtz’s former team-mates also reacted positively to the stunning strike.

Curtis Jones responded with four fire emojis, while former Leverkusen star Karim Bellarabi posted a heart-eyes emoji under the official Liverpool account’s post.

Wirtz and his team-mates had a night to forget in their first World Cup qualifier away in Slovakia, losing 2-0, and the Liverpool star recognised the need for an instant response.

Curtis Jones was pleased for Wirtz(Image: AP)

“We all know the last match was a disaster, and we wanted to do better today,” he said.

“Against Slovakia, we didn’t bring enough energy to the pitch – we improved on that today.

“It was a good performance and we can definitely be pleased with it.”

Germany boss Nagelsmann gave credit to Northern Ireland, who were tough to break down before the second-half efforts from Amiri and Wirtz.

Julian Nagelsmann speaking after Germany vs Northern Ireland(Image: Getty Images)

“I think today was all about momentum,” Nagelsmann said.

“The opposition made it difficult – they just kept playing long balls, which are never easy to defend.

They had one chance and it was a great strike.

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“We started the game well and took a deserved lead.

The equaliser unsettled us a bit, but that’s understandable after Thursday [against Slovakia].

“The final 30 minutes looked more like us – before that it was a mixed bag.