Fleet Foot Florian

Trying saying that after a few drinks. Florian Wirtz's dribbling is underrated. It was missed by Liverpool at the City Ground.

With 95 minutes on the clock at the City Ground, possession is pinballing in the vicinity of the centre-circle. Alexis Mac Allister gets a toe to the ball, with Rio Ngumoha able to recover it.

He dribbles past Ibrahim Sangaré, then Dilane Bakwa. The youngster completes infinitely more take-ons in that one moment than Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah combined in their 77 minutes, as neither of them even attempted one.

Ngumoha finds Andy Robertson in space on the left. His first time cross is cleared, the ball eventually going out for a throw on the opposite flank. It starts a sequence that goes from Joe Gomez to Dominik Szoboszlai to Virgil van Dijk to a save to Mac Allister to bedlam.

The completed dribbles across the centre of the pitch were not integral to the goal. The events were far too far apart for that. Ngumoha’s take-ons were evidence of how ball carrying can briefly unsettle an opposing team though. They distort their shape, creating space in which attackers can thrive.

Dribbling stats for Gakpo, Salah and Ngumoha against Forest

This ability can be crucial for a team. Jürgen Klopp once used it as justification for surprisingly selecting Naby Keïta to face Real Madrid. “We need dribblers, you need boys who like these kinds of situations where they can turn,” he said. “When they get a little advantage, they can make the next situation a big advantage.”

Arne Slot will have been disappointed to lose Florian Wirtz ahead of kick-off at the City Ground for many reasons. He’s the joint-second top creator of open play chances in the 2025/26 Premier League, for one thing. But Wirtz is also one of the leading dribblers in the division, hitting a mark that no Liverpool player met in any of the previous three seasons.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. His dribbling prowess was highlighted in an Opta Analyst article prior to his arrival in England.

“Wirtz likes to advance the ball via carries too – moving the ball five metres or more – making the fourth most carries in the Bundesliga last season (549), while only Wolfsburg’s Mohammed Amoura (6) had more than his five assists following a carry. He also attempted (165) and completed (82) the most dribbles in the Bundesliga in 2024-25.”

The figures in that final sentence mean Wirtz was successful with a shade under half of his take-ons last season. In that respect he has improved, as a more recent Analyst piece indirectly pointed out with this chart (on which I’ve highlighted the Reds’ #7).

To have succeeded more than you have failed when attempting so many is rare. According to the data on Fantasy Football Scout, only Jérémy Doku and Wirtz have completed at least 56 per cent of a minimum of 60 attempted take-ons this season.

This combination appears harder to hit than in the past, suggesting Opta may have tweaked their definition. More players achieved this combination in 2021/22 (22) than in the next three season in total (17). Nonetheless, no Liverpool player has done this since Sadio Mané four years ago.

As with any football metric, the location and productivity of these take-ons counts for a lot. The Analyst study noted that (former Slot winger) Yankuba Minteh leads the Premier League for take-on attempts in the box. Wirtz can’t match up to that - nor would you expect him to - but he looks ahead of Mané in 2021/22.

How many of the green dots on Wirtz’s map led to chances created or shots is harder to determine. With what I can piece together from FBRef data prior to it’s shutdown, the answer is three. It’s certainly fewer than eight, as per Opta Analyst.

The most impactful undoubtedly occurred against Sunderland at Anfield. Wirtz went past Dan Ballard in the Kop end penalty area before unleashing the shot that earned a point for the Reds.

The 22-year-old’s other successful take-ons which led to shots were for one of his own goal attempts at Selhurst Park and another which led to setting up a chance for Ryan Gravenberch against Wolves. All of three of these dribbles were completed within the box, showing of what Wirtz is capable when the opportunity presents itself.

We can also consider carries (of at least five metres) that lead to a shot or chance being created. These don’t have to include a successful take-on and the data is far more accessible; win-win.

Wirtz’s tally of 16 carries preceding a key pass is the fifth most in the league. It tops the Liverpool standings too. Gakpo heads the combined list once shots are factored in, though how many of those occurred after cutting infield before hitting a hopeless effort is unclear. A lot, almost certainly.

Comparing these figures with the corresponding 2024/25 numbers highlights what could be considered the Bundesliga to Premier League tax. Wirtz (-0.4), Jeremie Frimpong (-0.5) and Hugo Ekitike (-0.7) have all seen their rate per 90 minutes dip since moving to England.

We can say the same for Hudl Statsbomb’s On-Ball Value (OBV). Wirtz averaged 0.22 per 90 in the Dribble & Carry component of the metric last term, 0.13 more than he has offered in the Premier League. He’s hit his Bundesliga par just three times, all against newly promoted sides or Wolves.

The £100m man is trailing behind Gakpo (0.21), Frimpong (0.15) and Salah (0.12). Even Gravenberch (0.11) is ahead of his 0.09 rate. The progression carry data on Mark Stats reflects a similar reality for Wirtz.

Or maybe it just reflects the difference between German and English football. FC Heidenheim had the deepest defensive line in the 2024/25 Bundesliga, at 41.08 metres in front of their goal; the Reds have faced 15 deeper than that already this season. It’s harder to be impactful with dribbling in less transitional football.

What went before for Wirtz essentially no longer matters. The Premier League is a different beast. In it’s context, Wirtz is adding just what Liverpool need. With more experience of the league, his carrying could grow more valuable still.