Fourth in the Premier League before facing Brentford this Saturday evening, Liverpool wants to get back on track. After a very bad series of four consecutive defeats in all competitions, the Reds have, despite everything, proven to the whole of Europe that they remain a competitive team. Last Wednesday, at Deutsche Bank Park, Arne Slot's men, in fact, crushed Eintracht Frankfurt (5-1). Buoyed by a new achievement from Hugo Ekitike, a great Dominik Szoboszlai and more generally an attractive collective, the Mersey club was also able to count on one of its great summer recruits: Florian Wirtz. Questioned – rightly – since his arrival at Anfield, the defector from Bayer Leverkusen certainly delivered his first benchmark match under the Liverpool tunic.
Until now too discreet (0 goals and 1 assist in 11 matches in all competitions), the German international (35 caps, 8 goals) has, this time, shone brightly. Aligned in a right winger role – Arne Slot had decided to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench – the native of Pulheim was one of the great architects of the Reds' success. Involved defensively (7 balls recovered) and striking on the edge of the opponent's area, the 1m77 right-hander above all offered two offerings to Gakpo (66th) then Szoboszlai (70th). “I know I can do much, much more. I think the second half was very good. I'm happy with the victory, we had a great second half between everyone and I was finally involved in a goal.rejoiced the main person concerned.
Wirtz launches, Salah annoys
A relief also perceptible when reading the English press. “Playing on the right, but with the freedom to move inside, the German had a big influence under Liverpool's control in the first half and started to enjoy himself after the break”underlined in this regard Liverpool Echo about the German star, recruited last summer for a check for 136 million euros. Indeed, the repositioning of Florian Wirtz on the right wing of the Reds' attack can, in large part, explain this renewed form. Preferred over Mohamed Salah – usual holder of this position – the one who sees his contract run until June 2030 has largely convinced and could even have opened his goal counter at the end of the match if his Egyptian teammate, widely criticized in the English press, had not shown himself to be individualistic.
“Slot decided to line up Isak and Ekitike together in attack for the first time, with Gakpo on the left and Wirtz on the right. It was a fluid system, with Wirtz having the freedom to move around when Liverpool had possession, allowing him to be much more involved. Slot was right to leave Salah out as Liverpool's attack flourished. He (Salah, editor's note) was about to score at the end of the match, but he was prevented from doing so and he could have passed the ball to Florian Wirtz, who was better placed.analyzed in this perspective The Athletic. Enough to push Arne Slot to review his tactical plans? It's difficult to say at the moment, but Florian Wirtz's experience as a right winger could well be retested in the coming weeks, and why not this evening at the Brentford Community Stadium…
