The stats behind Florian Wirtz's performance for 'ugly' Germany win as manager jumps to Liverpool star's defence
Florian Wirtz’s form for Liverpool has been questioned, but what did the numbers look like behind his last display for Germany?
Arne Slot will be hoping that Liverpool’s recent struggles have been put to bed after the international break and that his summer signings start to play at the level that they are all capable of.
The two headline signings of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz are attracting all the attention, however, Milos Kerkez has to bring his form for Hungary into the red shirt of the club that pays his wages.
For Wirtz specifically, there isn’t much more that he needs to do with the 22-year old creating more chances than any other Premier League player across all competitions, but he will be praying that his teammates start to take them.
Numbers behind Florian Wirtz’s performance for Germany
A narrow win over Northern Ireland saw Germany strengthen their position at the top of their group with Wirtz playing a key role in the group A clash. The two games during this break have almost reflected his start to life at Anfield with his overall performance not being rewarded with the sort of numbers that he has become known for in the last few seasons at Bayer Leverkusen.
Starting on the left wing, Wirtz made 36 out of 39 passes with six of them into the final third to add to his three out of six successful dribble attempts according to FotMob. An expected goals and assists score of 0.36 suggests that on another day, he could have came away with solid numbers and a man of the match award.
As with his Premier League and Liverpool form, this translated to two chances being created in a game that left Germany boss Julien Nagelsmann frustrated via FotMob: "It definitely wasn't our best game," he said. "The stadium was extremely emotional. There were lots of fights to keep possession, and that even made it tough for the referee to notice all the little details. In the end, a set-piece play decided the game.
"We practice set-pieces a lot, because of its importance. All in all, it's difficult to play a nice game when the ball is in the air a lot. You have to fight and go for the duels. It was an 'ugly' win, but the most important thing is the three points."
Nagelsmann tips Florian Wirtz to find form for Liverpool
Nagelsmann, via BBC Sport, also addressed Wirtz’s form specifically before the clash with Northern Ireland in which he could have faced teammate Conor Bradley but for the Liverpool right-back being suspended, with the Germany boss confident that the £116m playmaker will come good: "Even though he hasn't scored any goals, he is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League," he told Sport 1 after Germany's 4-0 home win over Luxembourg on Friday.
"It's not his fault if his team-mates don't convert them, and the statistics don't even tell the whole story. Wirtz needs to get used to the league. I saw him playing with total freedom. He knows what he's capable of and how things work. He hasn't always had it easy – he'll have to work hard now too."
Wirtz hasn’t been Liverpool’s problem this season, but there is a feeling that if his numbers improve, so too will his club’s form.