One statistic from Liverpool’s frustrating draw with Fulham really stood out to me.
Florian Wirtz made nine defensive contributions.
Nine.
And while nobody can question Wirtz’s willingness to work for the team, that statistic actually tells us something much more concerning about Liverpool.
It tells us where our deficiencies are.
Wirtz is one of the most naturally gifted attacking players in this Liverpool squad. We didn’t spend all that money on him to have him spending large portions of games chasing midfielders, covering gaps and doing work that should be dealt with by the players behind him.
Of course, modern attacking players have defensive responsibilities.
That’s football.
But there is a difference between pressing from the front and being forced into defensive work because your midfield isn’t functioning properly.
Against Fulham, Liverpool’s midfield simply wasn’t giving the attacking players enough control.
Gravenberch and Szoboszlai struggled for much of the opening hour, Fulham were able to play through Liverpool too easily and Wirtz ended up having to contribute defensively far more than you’d want from your main creative player.
And that is where the frustration comes in.
We want to see Wirtz hurting teams at the other end of the pitch.
We want him receiving the ball between the lines.
We want him turning defenders.
We want him creating chances for Isak.
We want him arriving in dangerous positions.
We want him being the player who makes things happen.
Instead, against Fulham, he was being dragged into defensive duties because Liverpool weren’t controlling the midfield.
That’s not Wirtz’s fault.
It’s a structural problem.
And it goes back to the point I made after the game about the midfield.
Mac Allister’s introduction changed the flow of the match.
Suddenly Liverpool had someone who could receive the ball under pressure, dictate the tempo and help connect midfield with attack.
Wirtz should be benefiting from that sort of platform.
He shouldn’t be having to compensate for its absence.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking Wirtz to press or work hard without the ball. In fact, his defensive effort is a positive.
But nine defensive contributions from your £100m-plus attacking midfielder should make us stop and ask why.
Liverpool need to find the right balance.
If Wirtz is constantly being asked to do the dirty work because the midfield behind him isn’t functioning, we’re going to see less and less of the player Liverpool bought.
And that would be a terrible waste of his talent.
The answer isn’t to tell Wirtz to work less.
The answer is to build a midfield that allows Wirtz to attack more.
That’s where Iraola has a big decision to make.
Yesterday wasn’t just about dropping two points against Fulham.
It highlighted some of the structural problems this new Liverpool side still has.
And until those problems are fixed, we aren’t going to see the very best of Florian Wirtz.
We didn’t sign Wirtz to be a defensive midfielder. We signed him to be a difference-maker.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
Leave a Reply