Wirtz delivers but remains Liverpool's conundrum

ByHarry Poole

BBC Sport journalist

Florian Wirtz was instrumental as Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League at Brentford on Saturday, but does the German playmaker remain boss Andoni Iraola's greatest conundrum?

Wirtz has come in for criticism amid his struggles to replicate the form which persuaded the Reds to pay Bayer Leverkusen what was a club record £116m in June 2025.

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard even said this week that the 23-year-old could benefit from being taken out of the team altogether, to overcome what the club's former captain perceives as a lack of confidence.

The key dilemma facing Iraola was again evident in west London on Saturday.

Liverpool bounced back from their first league defeat of the season against Manchester City last weekend by scoring twice in the second half against a Brentford side reduced to 10 men before half-time.

The visitors produced plenty of chances, particularly with their man advantage in the second half when they registered 14 of their total 21 attempts.

Wirtz was at the heart of things in the final third.

The Germany international created more chances from open play (nine) than any other player has managed in a Premier League game over the past six seasons.

The last player to create as many chances in a single game in the competition was Sadio Mane, for Liverpool against Burnley, in January 2021 (also nine).

In an away game, he is the first player to reach that tally in more than 15 years, since Samir Nasri registered 10 for Manchester City against Tottenham in August 2011.

Despite answering his critics with those standout statistics, the impact of his playing style on the dynamic of the team continues to come under scrutiny.

BBC Sport pundit and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy believes a midfield which features Wirtz as the number 10 remains a problem as it makes Iraola's side too easy to play against.

"They got the job done. First and foremost, that's another win on the road, which is always positive," Murphy said of Liverpool's performance.

"But I thought they looked too easy to play against. The spaces are too big.

"They're playing with two wingers and Wirtz at 10, so they're relying heavily on the two midfield players to try and cover so much space.

"It was too easy for Brentford to play out and to get in behind. That would be the biggest concern today for me."

Wirtz's strengths are clear.

Following his latest performance, no player has created more chances in the Premier League this season. He is level with Brighton's Pascal Gross on 18.

He played in Munoz to begin Liverpool's fightback, meaning Wirtz has assisted in back-to-back games for Liverpool across all competitions for the first time - although this was only his second goal involvement in seven league games this term.

He was at the heart of Liverpool's attack, with a match-leading 12 final-third entries and 37 passes in the final third.

However, only Milos Kerkez (20) lost possession on more occasions than Wirtz (19) among Liverpool players, and he won just one of his nine duels.

"They don't look solid and don't look together in terms of shape," Murphy said.

"Instead of a number 10, where Wirtz is struggling to impact games, put three midfielders in.

"Always, the priority is foundation, defence, stability, being hard to beat. The other stuff can follow from there.

"At the moment, it just looks a little bit open. Against better teams, you're going to get hurt."

Victory took Liverpool up to fifth in the table, with three wins from their first seven league games under Iraola, who replaced Arne Slot in the summer.

The Spaniard oversaw the Reds' first away league win after conceding first since December 2023, ending a run of 19 winless away games when going 1-0 behind.

But, while striker Alexander Isak returned from injury, Iraola was dealt fresh blows as Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong suffered injuries on Saturday.

Iraola told BBC Sport: "When you come here, you see the results of Brentford at home and you have to be ready for this kind of battle.

"We had a lot of chances. Even at the end, we had some counters where we were three against one and need to finish. When we go 2-1, every throw-in and every free-kick can be a problem.

"We are in a delicate situation with some of the players. We were talking about this run of four games in 10 days, it's very, very demanding.

"We have to rest again because we have another big, big game against Villarreal [in the Champions League on Tuesday]."

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