Liverpool fans given proof that Florian Wirtz’s underwhelming start is not his fault - opinion

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Florian Wirtz has had a tricky start to his Liverpool career, but he has been painted out to be far worse than he actually has been.The Reds were expected to start the season on fire and not only win the majority of their games, but dominate most of them comfortably.This has been far from the case, though, and despite winning seven of their opening nine, their performances have been far from convincing, with their two defeats coming from their two most recent matches.Liverpool have underwhelmed all over the pitch, but Wirtz in particular has received most of the backlash after failing to score or assist since his £116m transfer this summer.However, despite a slow start, things could have been very different, with one key statistic suggesting there is not a lot more he can do.Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesFlorian Wirtz has created more chances than any Premier League player in all competitions Wirtz has had a clear job since he arrived, with this being to operate in the number 10 position and dictate the play for Liverpool just like he did for Bayer Leverkusen.He simply has not been able to do this just yet, though, with many rival fans, as expected, already jumping on the trend of labelling him as a flop.Liverpool fans might be questioning his ability a little bit too, but overall, he has not been as bad as the media have painted him out to be.In fact, there is one statistic in particular that proves he has been a lot more effective than others realise, with it also showing that he is being more impactful than some of the best creators in the division. According to OptaJoe, Wirtz has created the joint-most chances in all competitions this season from a player who plays in the Premier League.The German has created 21 chances already for Liverpool across the league, Champions League and EFL Cup, the same amount as Everton’s Jack Grealish.READ MORE: Pundit says £36m Liverpool player had one of his worst games ever vs Galatasaray21 – Most chances created for Premier League clubs in all competitions this season:21 – Florian Wirtz21 – Jack Grealish18 – Bryan Mbeumo17 – Bruno Fernandes16 – 5 playersAgenda. pic.twitter.com/tWorlUePE8— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 1, 2025 View Tweet To put this into perspective, Bryan Mbeumo has created 18 and Bruno Fernandes 17, while five other players have made 16 chances for their side.With that said, the 22-year-old is clearly offering his teammates chances to score, but as those around him are not firing in the final third, he is being made to look a lot worse than he actually has been.Florian Wirtz is also being forced deeperAnother reason why this statistic proves that Wirtz is not at fault is because he has created these chances from much deeper on the pitch too rather than his conventional number 10 position.

This is because he is having to come a lot deeper to pick the ball up as his teammates are unable to find him, showing that creating this number of chances is now even more impressive.If the players around him manage to regain some form, such as Alexis Mac Allister for example, then they will be able to give Wirtz the ball a lot more and in a more dangerous position, making his job a whole lot easier.So, once Liverpool click into gear, it would be no surprise to see Wirtz shine and the media agenda shift, but for now, he must keep quietly working away and his big moment will come.