Selfish Liverpool signing Wirtz ‘has forgotten his joy’ as German media blast ‘strained ego’
New Liverpool signing Florian Wirtz failed to impress the German media with his performance against Northern Ireland, despite scoring a free-kick to help Julian Nagelsmann’s side win in Cologne.
Wirtz sealed the win with a wonderful 72nd-minute free-kick, but his overall performance left a lot to be desired.
The media in Germany has harshly rated the 22-year-old’s performance on Sunday as his difficult start to the season continues.
Liverpool paid Bayer Leverkusen an initial £100million for his signature in July and he is yet to register a goal or assist in three Premier League appearances.
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His poor form carried over into the international break as Germany were beaten by Slovakia last Thursday in their first World Cup qualifier.
Wirtz was heavily criticised then and despite a crucial goal against Northern Ireland, the reaction has been mostly negative.
Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz criticised again after poor Germany performance
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung reporter Christian Woop thinks Wirtz ‘seems to have forgotten his joy of playing’ since joining Liverpool.
A home game for the Effzeh talent, born in the Cologne suburb of Pulheim, who rose to world-class status across the Rhine in Leverkusen.
But also a home advantage? Not really. He seems to have forgotten his joy of playing in Liverpool. But not his free-kick skills in the 3-1 win, which boosted his rating.
Vjekoslav Keskic of Neunzig claimed that Wirtz had ‘little impact on Germany’s play in the first half’ and ‘mostly struggled’.
Had little impact on Germany’s play in the first half. He mostly struggled against several opponents. He was denied by [Bailey] Peacock-Farrell from close range in the second half.
He sealed the victory with a stunning free-kick in the 73rd minute.
Süddeutscher Verlag agreed, stating that Wirtz ‘is currently having problems with his technique’ and has adopted a selfish approach, with his free-kick having ‘a soothing effect on his somewhat strained ego’.
His exceptional ball skills also brought occasional moments of joy to the Cologne crowd, but Wirtz is currently having problems with his technique.
Too often, he seeks personal salvation in it when he wants to create something truly special with solo performances. Sometimes it borders on the need to make a name for himself.
He then loses himself in stubborn dribbling instead of keeping the game flowing with a simple pass. He is intended as a playmaker, but rarely identified as such.
During the break, someone obviously gave him a few useful pointers, because in the second half, Wirtz was significantly more effective on the ball than before. His free kick to make it 3-1 should have at least as much of a soothing effect on his somewhat strained ego.
Meanwhile, BILD wonders where Wirtz’s ‘magic foot’ has gone since joining Liverpool.
For a long time, as was the case during the Slovakia match, we wondered: where has our magic foot from his Leverkusen days gone? But then he let it rip, hammering the dream free kick into the net to make it 3-1.
Der Spiegel was pretty positive in comparison to everywhere else.
At one point, a murmur went through the crowd when Wirtz pulled off a clever trick at the corner flag, sending an opponent running into empty space. It looked nice, but ultimately wasn’t effective. And he didn’t have enough of those moves. But he also improved significantly in the second half and rewarded himself with his free kick to make it 3-1.
Wirtz was asked about his slow start in England after Sunday’s win, noting that he’s adapting to “a different kind of football”.
“It might take a few more games,” Wirtz told broadcaster RTL. “It’s a different league and a different kind of football.
“When will I score for the first time? I have no idea. Hopefully, in the next game. It will come eventually.”
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