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- 1 hours ago
Florian Wirtz's DISMAL Liverpool start is just BAD LUCK, says Arne Slot
Carlo Garganese
- Updated: 19 Oct 2025 14:54 BST
- 4 min read
News
Arne Slot has defended Florian Wirtz's poor start at Liverpool and believes the Germany star has been unlucky so far.
Wirtz signed in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth €125 million - a then British record.
Current ETV
Florian Wirtz
AM, M (C)
Liverpool
Florian Wirtz
AM, M (C)
Liverpool
ETV Range
€102.8M - €171.3M
Big things were expected of the German superstar after he had established himself as arguably the most exciting player in the Bundesliga at Leverkusen over the previous two years.
However, Wirtz has endured a dismal start to life in the Premier League. He has managed no goals and no assists in nine matches between the Premier League and Champions League.
What did Slot say?
But ahead of Liverpool's game against Man Utd on Sunday, Wirtz has been defended by Liverpool manager Slot.
Slot believes he would have goals and assists were it not for bad luck.
“If you’ve been brought in for that kind of money, people focus on goals and assists,” Slot said.
“But he could already have six or seven assists if others had finished off his passes.
Against Chelsea, he played a beautiful flick through after one minute that on another day is a goal. Against Atletico Madrid, it’s the same — only the post stopped him from another assist.
“He’s been a bit unlucky.
"For a 22-year-old adapting to a new country and a league as demanding as this, it’s normal to need time.”
Wirtz's performances for Liverpool are a far cry from his brilliance at Leverkusen.
Wirtz joined Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 16 after spending 10 years at youth club FC Koln.
He immediately developed into one of the most exciting young talents in German football, becoming Leverkusen’s youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant at the age of just 17 years and 15 days.
His rapid rise was tested when he tore his ACL as an 18 year old in 2022.
After missing 10 months of action, Wirtz returned and he soon reached even bigger heights during a historic 2023-24 season.
Leverkusen went the entire Bundesliga season unbeaten as they stormed to the title. They also won the DFB-Pokal and went so close to an unbeaten treble as they fell at the final hurdle in the Europa League final to Atalanta.
Wirtz played a key role in Leverkusen’s success with 18 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.
He was named Bundesliga Player of the Season and also impressed at Euro 2024 with two goals before Germany’s controversial quarter final exit to Spain.
Wirtz also impressed in the 2024-25 despite Leverkusen falling short in the Bundesliga and Champions League - beaten by Bayern Munich in both competitions.
The attacking midfielder scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists in all competitions.
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