Arne Slot surely couldn’t have wished for a better week than the one he’s currently navigating. And while there’s still a nerve-inducing trip to Manchester City to come before it can be considered perfect, the early signs suggest that the Liverpool of last season are back and ready to compete for major honours once again. A 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League was impressive, and a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League has everyone on Merseyside salivating.
Reverting back to his old tactics board has worked wonders for the Reds, who had gone four league games without a win prior to their recent back-to-back triumphs. Andrew Robertson looks set to be a mainstay in the side once again, while Alexis Mac Allister – who scored the winner on Tuesday night – appears to have rediscovered his form alongside both Mohamed Salah and Conor Bradley, with the latter putting Vinicius Jr firmly in his pocket, where Kylian Mbappe was still comfortably residing after last season’s escapades.
It’s clear that last season’s squad, for now, are outperforming the new signings. But while it initially seemed as though Hugo Ekitike was the red herring in that assessment, Florian Wirtz is also beginning to settle into the system. One statistic – among many positives at Anfield in midweek – stands out as a reason to believe the German international can start repaying his £116 million transfer fee soon enough.
Stunning Florian Wirtz Statistic Emerges After Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
Wirtz, who joined the Reds after winning back-to-back Bundesliga Player of the Year awards under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, was the subject of fair criticism at the start of the campaign. The 22-year-old appeared to lack the confidence to make any real impact on Liverpool’s midfield or attacking output and struggled to cope with the pace and physicality of English football.
However, after silencing some of those doubts with two assists in the 5-1 win over Galatasaray, he has since delivered his finest performance in a red shirt – an all-encompassing display from the left wing against the perennial Kings of Europe. While Dominik Szoboszlai ran himself into the ground in midweek, a stunning post-match statistic revealed that Wirtz had actually covered more ground than any other player at Anfield. See below:
Running 11.37 kilometres across an 8.5/10 performance that also saw him win five duels, regain possession seven times, and create more chances than anyone else, showed just how capable Wirtz is of being an influential player for Liverpool, on and off the ball. A luxury player it seemed at first to most, he is poetry in motion in possession and a bloodhound out of possession when at his best.
He may have stumbled out of the blocks, but his new supporters are quickly starting to hold him in high regard, with one Liverpool fan reacting to the aforementioned statistic by commenting on X: “Outrunning Szoboszlai is insane. Wirtz put in an insane shift today.” While a second added: “I knew Wirtz put in a shift but damn, he outran Szoboszlai. What a brilliant performance from Wirtz,” a third remarked (watch Wirtz’s full match highlights below):
“This is easily the craziest stat from the entire game. Puts to bed any question about his physicality, he won five duels and recovered possessions six times.”
Indeed, there’s still a long way to go before Liverpool are consistently back to their best, with two impressive wins far from enough to turn the tide of a season that has seen them lose seven points’ worth of ground to current league leaders Arsenal and bow out of the League Cup to Crystal Palace.
The Reds must now focus on not getting carried away and continue building momentum. A trip to second-placed Manchester City on Sunday afternoon could prove even tougher than the test they just faced against Real Madrid. But a third consecutive win against in-form opposition would send a clear statement that better days could be here to stay.
