Wirtz struggles continue despite Liverpool's Champions League victory

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 16 Oct, 17:58 · Archive

Liverpool beat LASK 6-3 in the Champions League, but Florian Wirtz's inconsistency remains a concern despite an assist in the match.

Liverpool thrashed LASK 6-3 in the Champions League on Wednesday to claim their second win of the competition. Bradley Barcola scored a hat-trick in his senior career, while Florian Wirtz provided an assist. However, late defensive issues allowed LASK to score three goals in the final 30 minutes against Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Wirtz, who joined Liverpool for £116 million last year, has struggled to replicate the form he showed in Germany. He was influential against LASK but remains without a goal in the 2026/27 campaign. Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool captain, attributed Wirtz's inconsistency to a lack of confidence, though he maintained the German forward could still succeed at the club.

Manager Andoni Iraola acknowledged that Wirtz faces difficulties, but rejected suggestions that English football is specifically the problem. The Guardian reports that the physicality and intensity of the Premier League appear to be Wirtz's biggest issues, leaving him exposed in midfield. Iraola instead attributed the challenges to different types of games requiring different levels of comfort and time to think.

How it is being reported

• The Florian Wirtz mystery: why has he not found Leverkusen form at Liverpool?Two of our writers pick over the German’s contribution to Liverpool and what the £116m forward could yet produce Some criticism has been OTT and a fee rising to £116m heightens demands but, yes, compared with his performances in Germany and for Germany Wirtz has underwhelmed at Liverpool. The past week has encapsulated his Liverpool career so far. In the Champions League rout of Lask he was everywhere, exploiting gaps between and behind the Austrian club’s defence and knitting together a dominant display against limited opposition. In the previous game against Manchester City , however, when…The Guardian · 16 Oct, 17:40
• Liverpool news: Florian Wirtz's biggest issue identified as Andoni Iraola admits dilemmaLiverpool's latest news round-up includes a verdict being made on Florian Wirtz's biggest struggleMirror Sport · 16 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Florian Wirtz · Liverpool · Andoni Iraola · LASK · Bradley Barcola · Steven Gerrard

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