Some Liverpool fans are getting it all wrong about Florian Wirtz and his performance vs Atletico Madrid proves it
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On paper, Liverpool’s Champions League win over Atletico Madrid was another game in which Florian Wirtz failed to fulfill his remit for the Reds.Given the enormity of his price-tag, and the fact that he was a goals and assists machine while playing for Bayer Leverkusen, the German will obviously be mostly judged on his goal contributions – or lack of them.So far at Liverpool, it has not quite happened for him in that respect, and Wednesday was another example of that. If he puts up big numbers in both categories, he is obviously helping the team in the most tangible way possible.Nevertheless, it is not – and never has been – the be all and end all in football.At times, the problem with Wirtz has been that the rest of his game has been lacking as well, leaving fans with not a whole lot to grab hold of.But there have been signs that the 23-year-old is starting to click under Andoni Iraola, and the Atletico match was another excellent example of this.READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Atletico Madrid as Andoni Iraola secures debut Champions League winFor those measuring his performances only by the stats sheet, Wirtz should have had an assist to his name.
He would have had Bradley Barcola’s effort crept inside Jan Oblak’s post rather than trickle past it.The Barcola chance was Wirtz’s best moment of the game, and his link-up with the Frenchman before driving up the pitch and slipping him through to go one-vs-one with Oblak was an example of what he can do so well.Elsewhere, the former Leverkusen man simply did not stop running, and was brilliant at starting the press and winning the ball back from Atletico.That, coupled with his quality on the ball and knitting together the forward line and midfield, is much more important than the amount of goals or assists he can collect. If he continues to do that well, the more tangible end product will come anyway.Wirtz needs to deliver consistentlyIf Wirtz can turn in more of these performances on a regular basis, no Liverpool fan will really be able to grumble at all.How the No.
He has had performances like this in the past but has failed to build on them.If he can find the net against Fulham on Saturday that will help, but in reality all he needs is to turn up and play like the player Liverpool thought they were buying, whether he scores, assists or not.As Steve Nicol noted for ESPN FC after the game: “If Florian Wirtz can influence the game the way he did today in the Premier League, then things are looking up for Liverpool, because I think that’s the best he’s played in a Liverpool jersey.”Normally one of Wirtz’s fiercest critics, Nicol saw the hard work he put in against Atletico, and he recognised that his performances should not be judged on the end product of those around him.“The chance that Barcola had was all about the lovely ball from him,” Nicol said. He, unfortunately, wasn’t at his best and couldn’t do an awful lot with it.”On another day, Wirtz could easily have set up two or three goals for Liverpool.