Florian Wirtz sent clear message to Arne Slot vs United after being dropped to the bench yet again - opinion

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Liverpool’s overall display against Manchester United was dreadful, and some of the decisions made severely affected the game.The Red Devils came to Anfield and deservedly came away with a 2-1 victory after an early Bryan Mbeumo goal was followed up in the second half by a Harry Maguire header to win the game.Arne Slot’s men had pulled one back between those goals through Cody Gakpo, who was threaded the ball by Federico Chiesa, but it simply was not enough in the end to even grab them a point.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. This game has now extended the Reds’ run of defeats to four in all competitions for the first time in Slot’s career as they are forced to continue to take stock of exactly where they are going wrong.One place where the Dutchman had gone wrong today was in some of his selection choices as he left his team unchanged from the defeat to Chelsea before the international break.Florian Wirtz was one of those dropped to the bench in this game, and it was quite possibly the mistake that was costly to them in this game.Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesFlorian Wirtz’s cameo showed Arne Slot made a mistake dropping himThe German came on for Conor Bradley in the 62nd minute of the game, and with that set about putting his mark on the game.Creatively, the player once again created three chances and completed both of the long balls he sent into the box.In his other pieces of general play, the 22-year-old maintained an 81% pass accuracy, making two recoveries and winning his single tackle.READ MORE: Cody Gakpo did something only Darwin Nunez has ever managed for Liverpool vs Man UnitedWhen that is compared to some of the other players who started the game, it puts them to shame and shows why Wirtz is now integral in a game as open as one against United.It was already known his qualities of finding space and creating chances, so it made no sense why the Dutchman had chosen Alexis Mac Allister over him.While his head injury could not have been foreseen, it does not make up for his measly 13 touches in the first half.Slot had an opportunity to play Wirtz from the start to prove the critics wrong, but he decided against it, and now the German has proved the Dutchman’s decision to drop him as completely incorrect.Florian Wirtz will have to start vs Eintracht FrankfurtIt seems that the manager’s choice has been fuelled by the fact that Liverpool return to the Champions League on Wednesday.From that brief appearance against the Red Devils, he has proved that he has to start that game anyway, besides the fact that it is a competition he is suited to.However, it does not make up for his decision not to include him, and it could have made a small difference in one of the biggest games of the season.