Florian Wirtz benched vs. Chelsea – Arne Slot explains why

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Florian Wirtz dropped to the bench for Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea, with Arne Slot hinting at his decision to return to a more tried-and-trusted midfield trio. Wirtz has attracted growing criticism during a quiet start to life at Liverpool, with just one assist from his nine appearances so far.

"We play a lot of games, it's normal to change one or two players." Arne Slot explains his decision to start Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal for Liverpool and leave Florian Wirtz on the bench ?? pic.twitter.com/EOV38dNZ3c — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 4, 2025 Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of kickoff, Slot was questioned on his decision to omit Wirtz, and while he avoided any specific explanation he hinted that it came due to the challenge of facing Chelsea. “We play a lot games and if you play a lot of games I think it’s quite normal – you see this everywhere around the world – that you do sometimes change one or two players,” he said.

“That’s what we do as well and then you try to select the games, before the game starts, that you think is the best fit for that particular player. But Wirtz has seemingly not been dropped as such – simply that his qualities are best-used in other fixtures.