Jamie Carragher Calls for Liverpool to Drop Florian Wirtz<\/p>\n
Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 1\u20130 at the Vitality Stadium on September 20, with Alexander Isak scoring the only goal in the 57th minute. The victory kept Liverpool unbeaten in the Premier League going into the international break.<\/p>\n
However, Florian Wirtz\u2019s performance became one of the major talking points. The German midfielder struggled during the match and was substituted with around 20 minutes remaining. He completed 26 of 37 passes (70.3%), lost possession 15 times and registered three key passes.<\/p>\n
Carragher was particularly critical. After initially questioning Wirtz\u2019s performance during the live commentary, he went further on his podcast, describing it as one of the poorest performances he had seen from Wirtz in a Liverpool shirt.<\/p>\n
Carragher\u2019s concern goes beyond the Bournemouth match. He argued that Wirtz has not produced enough goals or assists since arriving at Liverpool and questioned whether the problem is simply poor form. He said Liverpool may be seeing the level Wirtz currently provides rather than a temporary dip in form.<\/p>\n
The former Liverpool defender therefore said Wirtz would not be in his starting XI for the next league match against Manchester City, scheduled for October 11. Carragher believes Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has a major selection decision to make during the international break.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f Iraola defends Wirtz<\/p>\n
Iraola offered a more measured assessment after the Bournemouth game. He acknowledged that Wirtz started slowly, but said the midfielder improved in the second half, found better positions and helped Liverpool improve their performance.<\/p>\n
Wirtz was also involved in the build-up to Isak\u2019s winning goal, attempting a touch toward the Swedish striker before the ball fell to Isak.<\/p>\n
So, the central issue is now whether Iraola continues to trust Wirtz as a starter or makes changes before Liverpool\u2019s demanding run of fixtures after the international break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"