Florian Wirtz under scrutiny after Anfield loss to Manchester City
Florian Wirtz was substituted in the 66th minute as Liverpool lost 3-0 to Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday in a Premier League match; the change came shortly after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off and Erling Haaland opened the scoring.
Liverpool pursued Rayan Cherki at the end of the 2024-25 season, with head coach Arne Slot travelling to the south of France to hold talks, but the club’s primary summer target had been Florian Wirtz, who was also wanted by Bayern Munich and Manchester City; once Wirtz declared his preference for Anfield the £116m transfer was completed. The German has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists in 56 appearances for the Reds, yet he had no goal involvements against any of the Premier League’s top-10 teams last season.
This campaign Wirtz has started every game in the league and Champions League so far but has registered only one assist across seven matches. New manager Andoni Iraola, who succeeded Slot in the summer, replaced Wirtz with Trey Nyoni in the 66th minute against City; that substitution followed Gravenberch’s dismissal and Haaland breaking the deadlock. Wirtz’s strongest showing this season came in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, when he was unlucky not to record an assist as Bradley Barcola fired wide.
Rayan Cherki, who is also 23, scored an exquisite goal in City’s 3-0 win at Anfield; he joined Manchester City from Lyon in June 2025 for £30m and has since scored 16 goals and provided 18 assists in 65 appearances. Cherki cost less than a third of what Liverpool paid for Wirtz, a contrast highlighted in discussions about Liverpool’s creative options.
Former Liverpool defender Steven Warnock criticised Wirtz’s impact, saying: "Wirtz has so much ability. I wish I had that ability because he just glides. He makes it look effortless - but he doesn't hurt teams. He doesn't impact the game enough. He drifts in and out of games. He's here for 10 or 20 seconds and then he disappears for five or 10 minutes and you think where is he now?" Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports: "I think he needs to come out of the team, I said that last time out and I'm going to say it again. Liverpool played well [against Man City] for a lot of the game before the Gravenberch red card but they didn't create a chance, so they have a real problem with scoring goals and creating chances and that's what you got Wirtz for. He's not giving you anything defensively and he's not giving you anything going the other way. I don't want anyone to pile in on the lad but I think we're justified in saying we need more and we can't wait." Given Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai are all currently sidelined, dropping Wirtz would represent a significant selection call.
Iraola defended Wirtz when asked if he needed more time: "The other day, he probably he didn't have his best game but he has had good games with us this season. Everyone starts looking for answers. He had some good performances in the national team - he scored one goal and he will have better or worse games. But I would like to look at it more collectively and more how they help us play and get results and after that I don't care who scores. I think it's a more collective thing." Jurgen Klopp also recently commented: "Attacking players always need a functioning team that works well around them. Anyone who loves football can still see how outstanding Florian is as a player," and Steven Gerrard said: "I can just picture him beating himself up on how his Liverpool thing has started. This kid is a major talent in my opinion. I've seen enough to believe and give him a chance. I think he needs help and support now."
Wirtz created 95 chances from open play in all competitions last season, at least 27 more than any other Liverpool player, and his pass for Victor Munoz's equaliser against Nottingham Forest in August was cited as an example of his creative quality. Against City there was a moment at 0-0 when Wirtz hit an effort wide despite Barcola and Milos Kerkez being in space on his left; the piece described that as a poor decision from a man desperate for a big moment. Wirtz spoke in August about feeling "more ready" for his second season and said: "I definitely learned a lot. I just learned how Premier League football is played and I think I am more ready for my second season because I know how it is now. I am really excited for my next season." The report also noted he had impressed in pre-season but that two months into the new campaign he needed to start delivering sooner rather than later.
Liverpool face two fixtures a week until the November international break, and the club will adjust selection after Sunday's defeat; with Gravenberch suspended for Saturday's trip to Brentford, Iraola is expected to keep the Dutch midfielder in for Wednesday's Champions League game against LASK in Austria and give a start to Nyoni. If Wirtz does not begin to produce more decisive contributions, Iraola "will be left with a tough decision to make."
