Arne Slot makes Liverpool team-mate comparison in passionate defence of Florian Wirtz

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Daily Mirror IconSportFootballLiverpool FCFlorian Wirtz's Liverpool performances have come under scrutiny but Arne Slot has been pleased with what he has seen and reckon one Reds star proves there is no reason to panicLiverpool boss Arne Slot has defended summer signing Florian Wirtz and pointed to his team-mate as a reason not to worry about his early difficulties. Despite a winning start, Slot has struggled to find balance in his team and the German international has struggled to assert himself as a key player.After producing 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen last term, Wirtz has managed three assists in 14 games for Liverpool.

The Reds star has failed to register a goal contribution in 10 Premier League games thus far.But Slot has not lost faith in the German playmaker, even though he has dropped out of the starting XI. Wirtz is still creating enough for Slot as it is, however.READ MORE: Jamie Carragher identifies Liverpool's biggest problem that Arne Slot is yet to solveREAD MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold sends emotional Diogo Jota message before Liverpool vs Real Madrid clash“You can say he [has only] started one of the last four but you can also say he's started eight, nine, 10 or 11 already this season," Slot said.

If you look at that then he already played a lot."He has had his impact in a lot of games but has been unlucky with the end product either by himself or his team-mates. For me, he exactly brought what we expected, a player who created a lot for the team."He will have his goals but I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone that if you’re 22 or 23 and come to a different league that you might need some time to adjust to that intensity if you play every three days, with only two days' rest in between."Before, Ryan Gravenberch was sitting here (in the press conference) and it took him a while to adjust to the intensity, maybe even longer than it is going to take Florian."Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.