Wirtz delivers but remains Liverpool's conundrum — SkimNews
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- Florian Wirtz created nine chances from open play against Brentford — the most by any player in a Premier League match over the past six seasons — and became the first away player to reach that tally in more than 15 years (since Samir Nasri for Manchester City in 2011).
- Liverpool bounced back from their first league defeat of the season (to Manchester City) with a 2-1 comeback at Brentford after the hosts were reduced to 10 men before half-time, bouncing back with two second-half goals.
- Steven Gerrard said this week that the 23-year-old could benefit from being taken out of the team entirely to overcome what the former captain perceived as a lack of confidence.
- BBC pundit Danny Murphy argued Liverpool's midfield featuring Wirtz at No. 10 looks "too easy to play against," with two midfielders forced to cover too much space, and urged Iraola to switch to three central midfielders.
- Wirtz's underlying numbers cut both ways: he registered 12 final-third entries and 37 final-third passes (both team highs), but lost possession 19 times and won just one of his nine duels.
- Liverpool climbed to fifth with three wins from seven league games under Iraola, but lost Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong to fresh injuries ahead of Tuesday's Champions League trip to Villarreal.
Why it matters: Wirtz has only two goal involvements in seven league games since his club-record £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen in June 2025, and Liverpool face a congested four-games-in-10-days run with Szoboszlai and Frimpong injured — forcing Iraola to decide whether to reshape the side around Wirtz's creativity or admit the £116m signing doesn't fit the system.
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