Arne Slot explains how Liverpool can get the best out of Florian Wirtz | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes unlocking the full potential of Florian Wirtz hinges on granting the Germany international creative freedom in the final third.

This strategic approach was evident in Wirtz’s standout performance during Tuesday’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid, where the £100 million summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen excelled operating from a wide-left position.

While often deployed centrally, the 22-year-old was given licence to roam against Madrid, shedding some defensive duties on the left flank to seek out space and maximise his impact.

Slot is keen to avoid pigeon-holing the gifted playmaker, saying that such restrictions would not play to his inherent strengths.

"Florian can play in more than only one position. He can play off the left, which he did almost all the time in Leverkusen when Xabi Alonso came and introduced his 3-4-3 system, and before he played as a 10 in a 4-3-3," Slot explained.

"It is more about getting him positions where he is good, rather than be focused on ‘Is he a 10, is he an 11, is he an eight?’ We would like to have him in and around the 18-yard box, centrally or a bit more off the left or bit more off the right for him to create the amount of chances he has already created for us."

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Slot believes Wirtz needs more freedom to succeed at Liverpool (Getty Images)

The Reds face another formidable challenge this Sunday with a trip to Manchester City.

Wirtz could find himself in a different tactical role against Pep Guardiola’s side, recalling Slot’s previous success at the Etihad where he deployed twin number 10s – Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones – in a 2-0 victory last season.

However, the Liverpool boss stressed that maintaining momentum, following back-to-back wins for the first time since September, is paramount and relies on consistency.

"For me, we have reached that level of performance (against Madrid) in other games as well when the playing style of the opponent was compared to that," Slot stated.

"We always knew we were able to do so. It was helpful to us the other team did what I expected because in eight out of 10 games this season we have faced a different playing style than these teams played before. Although there is still a lot of work to be done from the players to get a result like that."

Addressing the upcoming clash, Slot acknowledged the quality of their opponents.

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Slot’s Liverpool will take on Guardiola’s Manchester City on Sunday afternoon (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"What we can expect from City is the playing style we always see, but the difficult thing is they are very good at it and have very good players so that makes that challenge big again," he said.

Heading into the weekend, City and Liverpool are six and seven points behind league leaders Arsenal respectively.

Despite their proximity, Slot remains focused on internal improvements rather than the title race.

"I only focus on ourselves," he said. "We have lost a few games, much more than we usually do, and now we have won two so our focus is on getting consistent, improving and getting players fit and then we will see where that will lead to.

“But at this moment in time definitely not the only focus we have is the league table."