Florian Wirtz Shows Signs of Life After Jamie Carragher Said Drop Him

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Jamie Carragher said Florian Wirtz “needs to come out of the team” after Liverpool’s 3-0 home loss to Manchester City.
Wirtz has had a goal or an assist in each of Liverpool’s last three games, all wins, including nine chances created at Brentford.
Manager Andoni Iraola says he is asked about his £116m playmaker “every day basically” and now has three big games at Anfield to manage.

From Axe Talk to Nine Chances in a Week

Jamie Carragher did not soften it. After Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City, the former Reds captain told the Gary Neville podcast that Florian Wirtz should lose his place. “It’s not harsh to be having a go at Wirtz right now, he’s got to do so much more,” Carragher said. “I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I’m going to say it again.”

Within days the conversation had changed. Wirtz has had a goal or an assist in Liverpool’s last three games, all wins, according to Sky Sports, and manager Andoni Iraola now has to decide how far to trust a form upturn that has come in favourable conditions.

What Carragher Said About the £116m Signing

Carragher’s case went beyond one bad afternoon. “I’m just sorry to say this Florian Wirtz signing it’s not working and it hasn’t worked so far,” the Sky Sports pundit said. He also said Gravenberch should not be sitting on the bench when Wirtz plays. “I struggle to think of one game where he’s won Liverpool the game or he’s been the man,” Carragher added.

He said he had hoped Wirtz would be “the Kevin De Bruyne that at times got Man City over the line”. Instead: “Wirtz has been here for 55-60 games, it’s a lot and I don’t see it changing.”

The Run That Followed

The 23-year-old pulled the strings in Liverpool’s 6-3 Champions League win at LASK, where his inside pass in a tight space created the second of Bradley Barcola’s hat-trick. Barcola scored his first goals for the club that night.

At Brentford on Saturday, Liverpool came from behind to hand the home side their first defeat of the season. Wirtz created nine chances from open play, a total last reached by Sadio Mane against Burnley in January 2021 for a Premier League game, Opta data showed. His vision unlocked the defence for Victor Munoz’s leveller just past the hour. On Tuesday he made a match-turning second-half cameo in the 4-3 home win against Villarreal and scored a goal that ended a drought dating back to April.

Sky’s analysis adds a note of caution. Six of the nine chances at Brentford came after the hosts went down to ten men, following Yehor Yarmolyuk’s red card in first-half stoppage time, and Opta classed none of them as big chances. The same is true of the 20 openings Wirtz has created in the league this season, the highest total in the division. Liverpool rank only 16th for expected goals.

Iraola’s Answer

Iraola sounded tired of the subject. “You ask me every day basically about him, we analyse and over scrutinise everything,” the Liverpool manager said. Of Wirtz’s last two displays he said: “He’s coming in from two very good games, he played very well LASK away, he helped the team a lot in possession, out of possession.” He added: “I hope we can keep him there.”

Wirtz returned seven goals and ten assists in 49 games across all competitions in his debut campaign at Anfield. Sky’s Vinny O’Connor told the Sky Sports Premier League podcast that the answer lies in the balance around him. “It is to do with the players around him and it is finding that balance in midfield,” he said, pointing to the lack of “an out-and-out destroyer who can sit in front of that back four”.

Three Tests at Anfield

The next 10 days will show which version of Wirtz Liverpool have. Brighton visit Anfield on Sunday, Chelsea come in the League Cup on Wednesday 28 October, and champions Arsenal follow in the league. Iraola’s predecessor Arne Slot faced the same question about where to fit Wirtz when the German arrived. Carragher has made his call. Iraola has three matches to answer it.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.