‘Mostly struggled’ – German media hammer ‘strained ego’ Florian Wirtz despite stunning free kick | OneFootball

Not even a sublime goal was enough to spare Florian Wirtz from further criticism from many German media in his nation’s win on Sunday night.

The Liverpool star rounded off a 3-1 victory for Die Mannschaft over Northern Ireland with a sensational free kick in the 72nd minute, a result they badly needed after losing to Slovakia in their opening World Cup qualifier three days previously.

The 22-year-old was pilloried in an article by Bild after that setback in Bratislava, and despite his moment of magic last night, many reporters in his homeland weren’t all that impressed with his overall performance.

What did German media say about Wirtz?

Christian Woop of Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that Wirtz ‘seems to have forgotten his joy of playing’ since joining Liverpool in the summer, while Neunzig‘s Vjekoslav Keskic claimed that the Reds’ number 7 had ‘little impact on Germany’s play in the first half’ and ‘mostly struggled’.

Perhaps the harshest criticism of all came from Philipp Selldorf in Süddeutscher Verlag, who opined: ‘Wirtz is currently having problems with his technique. Too often he seeks personal salvation in it when he wants to create something truly special with solo performances.

‘Sometimes it borders on the need to make a name for himself. He then loses himself in stubborn dribbling instead of keeping the game flowing with a simple pass.’

That writer added that Wirtz’s free kick goal could have ‘a soothing effect on his somewhat strained ego’.

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Wirtz is seemingly being held to higher standards

Liverpool’s number 7 is discovering the pitfalls which come with a £100m+ transfer, with the 22-year-old being held to unforgivingly high standards by the German media.

While we didn’t see the best of him in the first half against Northern Ireland, his overall performance appeared to be better than what the aforementioned reviews would suggest.

As per Sofascore, Wirtz completed 87% of his passes (33/38), played three key passes and won seven duels, the joint-highest among Julian Nagelsmann’s side, so he couldn’t have been all that terrible last night.

The Germany international has yet to score for the Reds and contributed just one assist so far (Transfermarkt), but it’s very early days in his LFC career and he’s still getting acclimatised to the intricacies of playing in Arne Slot’s side and forging an innate understanding with his teammates.

We remain firmly convinced that the 22-year-old will justify his price tag at Anfield and have an integral role in any tangible success that the Premier League champions achieve this season, hopefully silencing the critics in his homeland along the way.