Man of the Match: ‘Class’ Liverpool star impresses against Sunderland | OneFootball

Liverpool 1 – 1 Sunderland – Premier League Man of the Match

Liverpool were uninspiring, sluggish, and painfully devoid of conviction as Sunderland—newly promoted yet fully deserving of their point—walked out of Anfield with the kind of quiet satisfaction that only comes from exposing a giant in crisis. For Arne Slot, it was another night where the system stuttered, the tempo evaporated, and far too many players drifted through the game without purpose.

But amid the grey and the grim, one player again rose above the malaise. Florian Wirtz, Liverpool’s £100m generational technician, produced the only moment of genuine class—a deflected equaliser that salvaged a point and, frankly, spared the team deeper embarrassment. In a match where creativity was suffocated and intensity absent, Wirtz was the lone beacon of invention.

A Class Apart in a Game Starved of Quality

From the first whistle, the German international looked determined to impose himself on a game that desperately needed a spark. While the pace around him spluttered, Wirtz continued searching for pockets of space, drifting between lines, combining neatly when possible, and attempting to inject life into an attack struggling for coherence.

His first-half touches were crisp, his movement intelligent, and his willingness to take responsibility obvious. Yet the collective lethargy around him made progression painfully difficult. Cody Gakpo stalled on the left before being withdrawn at halftime. Alexis Mac Allister could not dictate from midfield. Ryan Gravenberch moved the ball safely rather than incisively. Even Mohamed Salah, introduced after the break, failed to shake the slumber.

Wirtz, however, kept playing. And in the second half, he finally received the ball in a dangerous area—and forced the moment Liverpool’s performance did not merit. His strike, aided by a deflection, nestled inside the far corner. It was a rare flash of imagination in a match that lacked tempo, lacked urgency, and lacked any sense of controlled aggression.

It wasn’t just the goal. Wirtz’s composure, agility, and vision were the closest Liverpool came to unlocking a stubborn, well-drilled Sunderland block.

The Standard Bearer in a Team Searching for Answers

Beyond the goal, this game served as yet another reminder of where Liverpool’s attacking identity must be built—and built quickly. Wirtz is the one player in red who consistently looks capable of shifting rhythm and manipulating a defensive shape. Even when the team is flat, he plays forward with purpose. He demands the ball. He tries things others shy away from.

Around him, there were flashes but little substance. Wirtz? He was simply better. A class apart. World-class in moments where others were ordinary.

Liverpool remain stuck in the mud—but if this season is to be dragged back toward relevance, it will be through players of Wirtz’s brilliance. On a flat, joyless afternoon at Anfield, he was the only one who refused to sink to the same level.

Man of the Match: Florian Wirtz