The Mystery of Florian Wirtz's Anomaly in the Premier League

LIVERPOOL, FRIDAY - Zero. That number represents the total accumulation of goals and assists by Liverpool's star midfielder Florian Wirtz after eleven weeks of the English Premier League this season. The underwhelming performance of the second most expensive player in the league's history continues to be a puzzle, especially following the international break with the German national team.

When representing Germany earlier this week, Wirtz was a markedly different figure. He performed excellently and contributed two assists in Germany's 6-0 victory over Slovakia. In fact, the creative midfielder arrived at the international break with numerous questions regarding his minimal contributions at Liverpool. That trend reversed instantly.

The entire club is in shambles this season. It's much harder to break into the team in the current climate.

The mystery surrounding Wirtz will continue as Liverpool hosts Nottingham Forest at Anfield Stadium on Saturday (22/11/2025) at 22:00 WIB. In the last match for "The Reds" against Manchester City, he was once again trusted to be in the starting eleven by coach Arne Slot. As a result, Liverpool played very poorly and suffered a three-goal defeat without reply.

Julian Nagelsmann, the coach of Germany, defended his player. According to him, Wirtz indeed needs time to adapt to English football, but this is not the main cause of Liverpool's decline. Slot's team has larger issues, and this does not help Wirtz at all.

"All clubs are unstable this season. It is much more difficult to break into the team in the current situation. If you look at the match against City, they were indeed the worse team for 90 minutes. Therefore, Flo also finds it difficult to make a significant impact. The situation is like that, so he needs a little more time," explained Nagelsmann.

Upon closer examination, Slot has yet to find the best role for Wirtz. This is evidenced by the fact that the player's position continues to be changed. Wirtz was initially trusted as an attacking midfielder to fill the role of Dominik Szoboszlai. Recently, he has started to be shifted to the left winger position in the 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to his position in the national team.

Despite the same position, Wirtz's approach to play is different. He's primarily utilized in the left halfspace while with the national team. His role is similar to his shining moment at Bayer Leverkusen. At Liverpool, the 22-year-old midfielder often switches from the left to the right when in possession.

John Barnes, a former Liverpool player from the 90s, stated that the difference in playing style compared to last season complicates the transition process for "The Reds." Liverpool heavily relied on quick counterattacks in Slot's first season. They only needed a few touches to reach the opponent's penalty area, unlike this season.

"We used to pass the ball around and get forward quicker. Now, there are too many touches in midfield and up front. Now we have Wirtz and (Hugo) Ekitike dribbling a lot. So you could say we're playing a different way," Barnes said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.

The player most disadvantaged by this change in style is wing forward Mohamed Salah. He has only produced 4 goals and 2 assists from 11 matches. His contributions are far below last season's standards, when he managed to contribute a total of 29 goals and 18 assists in the league. Salah is no longer receiving many opportunities from transition situations.

Regardless of that, Wirtz is indeed still struggling to adapt to the pace and physical aspects that are much more intense in the English League. He often loses the ball in the opponent's final third and is outmatched in duels. Former prominent English player, Gary Neville, even referred to him as a child fighting against adults on the field.

The issue of adaptation can be evidenced by comparing Wirtz's performances in other competitions. Although he has not yet reached his best level, he has been able to contribute more effectively when playing in the Champions League. Wirtz has already provided two assists in four matches in the most prestigious tournament in Europe.

The evidence is increasingly visible from the statistics of the creative aspects in the two competitions. The number of key passes made by Wirtz in the Champions League is the same as in the English League, totaling 16 times. However, in the domestic league, he played with double the number of minutes. Furthermore, Wirtz recorded an expected assists (xA) of 1.9 in Europe, compared to only 1.1 xA in England.

Amidst all the uncertainties, the match against Forest could be a moment of resurgence for Wirtz. Although Forest managed to defeat Liverpool at Anfield last season, they are currently in a transitional phase. Forest has dismissed two coaches in the last two months, namely Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou.

Currently, Forest is led by Sean Dyche. The former Everton coach stated that Forest is still building its foundational structure. "You certainly want your team to be confident wherever they are. That is important. We want to be competitive in every match. We are starting to build that mentality," Dyche said. (AP/REUTERS)