Three overlooked statistics which prove Florian Wirtz just had his best game for Liverpool - opinion
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Florian Wirtz has struggled at the start of his Liverpool career, but he is slowly getting up to speed.
The Reds continued their dramatic start to the season with their fifth late winner in as many games, with this one coming from captain Virgil van Dijk.
Overall, the performance was much improved compared to previous weeks, especially in the first half, with Liverpool looking a lot more dangerous in the final third.
However, the Reds would have hoped that their new signings would have been able to help them win games like this a little more easily, but that has not been the case just yet.
With that said, although Florian Wirtz would be one of those who would have been expected to make a difference, he certainly did that despite failing to register a goal or an assist.
His overall performance was much better than previous ones, and there are three overlooked statistics that prove just that.
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Wirtz has been under significant pressure since he arrived, with the main reason for this, and perhaps the only reason, being his £116m price tag.
This is because if fans ignore the record-breaking fee that they paid for him at the time and solely focused on his performances, they would realise that he has not been as bad as the media have painted him out to be.
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The German appears to be getting better and better as the games go by, and during the game against Atletico, he is very unlucky not to have a goal or an assist to his name.
But, luckily for him, other statistics can back up his performance and show just how good he really was, with them proving that he has had his best game to date.
During the game, Wirtz had more touches in the opposition’s box (7) than any other Liverpool player on the pitch, and somehow, none led to a goal, even though that was almost no fault of his own.
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As well as this, he created the most chances (5) and the most big chances (2) against Atletico according to Squawka, proving just how key he was in the win.
He did not manage the full 90 minutes, something he has not done all season, but based on how hard he worked on and off the ball, this does not come as a surprise.
New players often take a little bit of time to get up to speed, but unfortunately after costing significantly more than most, a player like Wirtz will be judged a lot quicker than the rest.
And, he will count himself unlucky not to have a goal or an assist right now as he probably should have, with his biggest chance of getting the latter being squandered on Wednesday night by Mohamed Salah after he hit the post.
But, his performances show improvement and with the Merseyside derby up next, the first of many for all the new signings, this could be the chance to really announce himself.
It is a lunchtime kick-off, which have notoriously been bad luck for the Reds over the years, but with the way Wirtz is playing, there could be a chance that this game he just explodes.