Florian Wirtz sends subtle message to Liverpool critics as players rush to support star

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Ibrahima Konate replied with a face with zipped mouth emoji, which may be a pointed gesture following the criticism of the £116m man.Speaking after the win, he said: "It was very nice, the feeling on the pitch with the fans around, I was very happy."I was confident that I would score one day, I wanted to start scoring and assisting earlier but it was like this, I have to accept it but I just knew that it would come and I had to keep going."Wirtz's first goal comes a matter of weeks after he played a crucial part in Liverpool's equaliser against Sunderland.The Bundesliga-winner saw his effort deflect home against the Black Cats at the beginning of this new unbeaten run from the Reds, which is now six Premier League matches - seven in all competitions, but was marked down as an own goal following the ricochet.Last time out, Wirtz was the provider for Alexander Isak's opener against Tottenham Hotspur to break his duck for assists in the top-flight after notching two previously in the Champions League.Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was among the critics to highlight the playmakers' shortcomings in his Liverpool career.He was particularly critical of Wirtz following the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City in November, where he highlighted the German's struggles against Pep Guardiola's side as looking "like a little boy" and described him as a problem.He said: "I thought Wirtz in particular - it was a really bad day for him. We've been tip-toeing around him haven't we, for a few months, around the fact that he's young, coming to a new country."But he's £120million, you're going to have to stand up soon.

I mean he's obviously got something."He's a really good player and technically fantastic, but he's been mauled out there today by [Matheus] Nunes and by others. He's been chucked around the pitch and didn't deliver in the quality side of things either.

He's £120m and he looked like a little boy out there. He's a German international of great standing and he looks well short of what you'd expect from a top physical match."They've got to get him up to speed and get that tenacity into him that means he can get into form.