Florian Wirtz finally managed to open his Liverpool account against Wolves during Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win at Anfield, and the big-money summer signing fired a subtle shot at his critics
Liverpool star Florian Wirtz has sent a subtle message to critics after netting his first goal in the 2-1 win over Wolves. The big-money signing opened his account with a composed finish following impressive forward play from fellow summer arrival Hugo Ekitike.
The 22-year-old took to social media post-match with a carousel of pictures, but the song choice appeared to be particularly pointed. Wirtz used the song from American rapper Gunna, titled ‘Made For This S***’, which comes in light of intense scrutiny following his £116million switch from Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz had shown glimpses of quality since arriving in the Premier League but had come under fire for his output as well as handling with the pace and physicality in England’s top-flight. However in recent performances, the Germany starlet has emerged as a spark in Arne Slot’s attacking play.
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Wirtz took to Instagram and captioned his post with a red heart, receiving support from his Liverpool teammates.
The majority of the comments from those that he shares the dressing room with were emojis. Ibrahima Konate replied with a face with zipped mouth emoji, which may be a pointed gesture following the criticism of the £116m man.
Speaking after the win, he said: “It was very nice, the feeling on the pitch with the fans around, I was very happy.
“I was confident that I would score one day, I wanted to start scoring and assisting earlier but it was like this, I have to accept it but I just knew that it would come and I had to keep going.”
Wirtz’s first goal comes a matter of weeks after he played a crucial part in Liverpool’s equaliser against Sunderland.
The Bundesliga-winner saw his effort deflect home against the Black Cats at the beginning of this new unbeaten run from the Reds, which is now six Premier League matches – seven in all competitions, but was marked down as an own goal following the ricochet.
Last time out, Wirtz was the provider for Alexander Isak’s opener against Tottenham Hotspur to break his duck for assists in the top-flight after notching two previously in the Champions League.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was among the critics to highlight the playmakers’ shortcomings in his Liverpool career.
He was particularly critical of Wirtz following the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City in November, where he highlighted the German’s struggles against Pep Guardiola’s side as looking “like a little boy” and described him as a problem.
He said: “I thought Wirtz in particular – it was a really bad day for him. We’ve been tip-toeing around him haven’t we, for a few months, around the fact that he’s young, coming to a new country.
“But he’s £120million, you’re going to have to stand up soon. I mean he’s obviously got something.
“He’s a really good player and technically fantastic, but he’s been mauled out there today by (Matheus) Nunes and by others. He’s been chucked around the pitch and didn’t deliver in the quality side of things either. His performance was a real worry.
“Wirtz is a problem, let’s call it what it is. It’s an issue. He’s £120m and he looked like a little boy out there. It can’t be the case. He’s a German international of great standing and he looks well short of what you’d expect from a top physical match.
“They’ve got to get him up to speed and get that tenacity into him that means he can get into form. They’ve got to stick with him, and persist, but they’ve got to find a way to get the best out of him.”
