A Touch of Wirtz

Florian Wirtz was everywhere in Liverpool's friendly win over Athletic Club. His career data suggests he could be even more heavily involved in future.

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You should be very excited about the impact Florian Wirtz will have for Liverpool. Did you see him against Athletic Club on Monday night? Wow.

If you missed it, the video compilers of the world have been all over his performance. His touches are worth revisiting even if you saw the match. Immerse yourself in the multiple facets of his game here:

Passing and pressing. Carrying and harrying. Dribbles and through-balls. Giving, going, Wirtz did it all. He set up the shot which led to the second goal, then dummied the assist for the winner.

The 22-year-old linked up superbly with all three forwards. Wirtz launched a counter attack by passing to Hugo Ekitike, heading over the crossbar later in the same move thanks to a cross from Cody Gakpo.

His connection with Mohamed Salah looks the most exciting, in part thanks to his excellent movement within the opposition penalty box. The Egyptian found Wirtz in the area with a lovely pass, only for the former Leverkusen man’s cross across the six-yard box to be blocked out of play. He then almost found Salah with a through-ball in the second half.

Their best moment occurred in the 13th minute. Wirtz passed the ball from inside the Athletic Club box out to Salah, who then played it back through to Gakpo for a big chance. He steered his shot wide of the far post, with Wirtz almost making it to that region in time for a tap-in. These sort of triangles could be devastating for Liverpool.

He repeatedly offered a passing option for defenders. He took set pieces, setting up Dominik Szoboszlai for a shot via a corner. He regained possession in all three thirds of the pitch by pressing opponents. Wirtz did it all.

The German logged 55 touches in his 74 minutes, the equivalent of 67 across a whole match. His 36 in one half against Milan scales up even higher.

Pre-season friendly disclaimer notwithstanding, this is a very heavy level of involvement against two clubs who will have played Champions League football in 2025 once the year is out. Looking for attacking midfielders with this many pro-rata touches for Liverpool at Europe’s top table will leave you scrabbling around in a fairly bare cupboard. Against top five league sides, there is a sole example.

Again, it’s pre-season. Let’s not go overboard here. Then again, maybe we should. When you analyse Wirtz’s career data, these recent examples undersell how crucial he might be, if anything. The Reds’ new number seven has very few peers at dominating attacking thirds.

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