Florian Wirtz vs Palace: One goal, two key passes and seven ball recoveries

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Florian Wirtz was in superb form against Crystal Palace and proved that he is the player Liverpool need to build their project around. Seven goals and ten assists in his debut season, despite the systemic problems at Liverpool suggests that the project trajectory of his Anfield career is well on track.

Wirtz stats and performance against Palace For only the third time since Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton on 21 March, Wirtz played the full 90 minutes of a game, and his influence was obvious. On top of his goal, Wirtz played two key passes, completing 93% of his 40 passes in Palace’s half of the field.

Despite all of this, Wirtz has managed to show what he’s capable of, and it tracks that if things improve around him, his level can only go up. He needs a defensive midfielder to anchor Liverpool’s midfield in a way that Ryan Gravenberch simply isn’t able to for all his other undeniable talents.