'Why': Steve Nicol says Germany did something that 'makes no sense at all' with Florian Wirtz last night
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Liverpool forward Florian Wirtz was on the wrong side of an embarrassment on Thursday as Germany lost against Slovakia.
Wirtz has had a slightly slow start to life with the Reds, with the pause in the domestic calendar arguably coming at a good time for him.
But the No.
7 seemingly took his underwhelming form into the international break and was unable to make a difference during the surprise 2-0 defeat.
The German national media were not impressed with Wirtz, who could not turn things around for his team.
According to former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, however, the 22-year-old’s ineffectiveness was not his own fault.
Instead, Nicol pinned the blame on manager Julian Nagelsmann for making a decision with Wirtz which ‘made no sense.’
Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images
Since his arrival at Liverpool, there have been some questions over where Wirtz would play under Arne Slot.
The former Bayer Leverkusen man is very much an attacking midfielder, but with Liverpool rarely having space for one under Slot, it has been pointed out that Wirtz can also play on the left.
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According to Nicol, though, Nagelsmann made a real mistake with Wirtz by not playing him in his natural role against Slovakia.
“Why are you playing Goretzka through the middle supposedly in an attacking position when you’ve got Florian Wirtz in your team?” the Liverpool legend questioned on ESPN FC.
“Albeit a Florian Wirtz who hasn’t started that well for Liverpool, but why are you putting him out on the left?
So why are you playing somebody like Goretzka as an attacking midfielder?
It makes no sense at all.
“Other than the clip we showed of Wirtz with the opportunity, it says they had 13 shots, I can’t remember 13 shots.”
Nagelsmann’s time with Germany has been littered with strange decisions and some very weird results.
For Liverpool fans, this has meant nothing up until this point.
Before Wirtz, they had not employed a German player since Emre Can left in 2018.
But now, with their player one of the absolute star men in the set up, they will be keeping a close eye on Nagelsmann and his team.
In terms of Wirtz, supporters will be hoping to see him played in his most natural position.
If he keeps being shunted about, it may disrupt his rhythm for Liverpool.
In this early part of the season when international breaks come around every month, the more continuity Wirtz can get, the better.