Liverpool secured a 2-1 win against Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on September 23 at Anfield.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring for the Reds by netting his first goal since his arrival at Merseyside this month, from an assist by Federico Chiesa in the 43rd minute. Following Southampton’s equalizer in the 76th minute, Hugo Ekitike scored Liverpool’s winning goal from another assist by the 27-year-old Italian star in the 85th minute.
Florian Wirtz, who arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen this summer on a five-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €136.3million (£116m), was not included in Liverpool’s squad against Southampton.
The 22-year-old did not have an impressive beginning to his journey at the Reds, especially considering the expectations and price tag he came with. Wirtz has started in six out of the seven appearances he has made for Liverpool, during which he recorded only one assist.
Wirtz’s lack of contributions on the pitch has welcomed some criticism. The German star being named on the bench in Liverpool’s last Premier League game, followed by his absence from the Carabao Cup squad amid the competition among great talents like Isak and Ekitike in the squad, has also raised questions about his standing in head coach Arne Slot’s pecking order.
Amid these struggles and criticism, former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp urged everyone to give Wirtz time to adapt to the league and not doubt the player’s abilities.
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Wirtz, now, has opened up about his slow start at Liverpool, claiming he is not looking for sympathy or excuses and aims to ‘do better each time than before.’
What did Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz say?
Wirtz bluntly admitted that while he is aware of his capabilities, he does not want to hear ‘give him time’ on every occasion and told Sky Germany,
“Yes, of course I would have liked to have scored a goal or collected a few points. But no matter what anyone says, I’m staying cool. I know what I’m capable of and I also know that I’ll really bring it onto the pitch at some point, so I’m just staying cool. That’s a good reminder. I don’t want to hear it all the time, ‘give him time, give him time.’ Instead, I just try to do better each time than before.”
“Sometimes there are just phases where things might not go your way; I haven’t had that very often in my career. Once I’ve got through it, that’s perhaps harsh, because I’m not playing badly, I just haven’t got the scoring points yet, it will come at some point, and then everything will be fine. It’s no secret that I’d like to have more so far, but I’m patient, and as I just said, I know full well that I can play good football. Sooner or later, I’m sure that things will return to normal.”
It remains to be seen if Wirtz will score his first goal for Liverpool in their upcoming Premier League match against Crystal Palace on September 27 at Selhurst Park.
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