Analysis: Why Wirtz is finding his rhythm at Liverpool

Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 23.

Player analysis: Florian Wirtz

When Arne Slot signed Florian Wirtz last summer, for a reported transfer fee of £116million, expectations for how he would improve Liverpool’s starting XI were sky-high.

It has taken a while for the young German to catch fire, but his recent upturn in form is exciting the fans as he heads into Saturday's trip to AFC Bournemouth with four goal involvements already this month in the Premier League and FA Cup.

Finding his feet

Liverpool’s indifferent start to 2025/26 was mirrored by Wirtz's limited impact in the final third as he settled slowly into English football.

It took 16 Premier League matches for the big-money signing from Bayer Leverkusen to register his first direct goal involvement.

It came in the form of a lovely through-ball for Alexander Isak's goal away to Tottenham Hotspur, and it remains Wirtz's one and only top-flight assist for the club so far.

Watch Wirtz's assist for Isak v Spurs

Wirtz's first Premier League goal followed in Liverpool’s next match, when the 22-year-old was outstanding in a 2-1 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Running onto Hugo Ekitike’s through-ball, he finished with aplomb.

Watch Wirtz's goal v Wolves

Wirtz has since followed it up with league goals against Fulham and Burnley - the latter being a fantastic arrowed strike into the top corner - as well as a goal and an assist in the home FA Cup win over Barnsley.

Watch Wirtz's goal v Burnley

For an attacking midfielder who reached double figures for league goals and assists in each of his last two campaigns at Bayer Leverkusen, Wirtz’s output still needs to rise.

But, after producing four goals and two assists in all competitions since 20 December, it should not be ignored that no other Premier League player has more direct involvements in the same timeframe.

So, Wirtz's form ahead of a weekend clash at Bournemouth is undeniably strong.

Wirtz: Season by numbers

Wirtz has been a different animal across the last six Premier League games, making progress in all aspects of his game, both performance-wise and in the data.

The German is now finishing less tentatively, and that self-belief has been evident in his ball-carrying too, where has completed more dribbles in the last six matches than he did in his first 15 appearances.

His Expected Assists (xA) and Expected Goals (xG) tallies were also lower before 20 December, than they have been in the month which has followed.

Wirtz's PL attacking stats compared

Stat	First 15 matches	Last six matches
Shot conversion %	0	21.4
Dribbles completed	14	16
Big chances created	1	1
xA	1.69	1.75
xG	2.12	2.49

While Wirtz will be rightly frustrated to have created just two big chances all season, he has made progress.

He is shooting with far greater regularity, and from better areas.

The Germany international’s time on the ball has also increased significantly.

Across his first 15 games, Wirtz averaged 45.6 passes per game, but from Matchweeks 17-22 that figure soared to an impressive 73.8 passes per 90.

It seems the summer signing has earned the trust of his team-mates, who are now happy to give him the ball as often as possible.

Wirtz's PL shooting and passing stats per 90 compared

Stat	First 15 matches	Last six matches
Total shots	1.61	2.52
Total shots inside box	1.08	1.80
Touches in opp. box	5.02	7.92
Passes	45.60	73.80
Passes into final third	4.57	5.58

Has anything changed in terms of his position?

Slot has deployed Wirtz in several different positions of late.

The German has played as a No 10, out wide on the left, as a "false nine" against Arsenal, and on the right, providing his head coach with a variety of options from a tactical perspective.

What we have seen, no matter where he starts, is a tendency to avoid the crowded central domain that he occupied earlier on in the campaign.

Perhaps the best visual representation of this is his pass map from the 2-2 draw with Fulham, a match in which he scored.

Wirtz started the game at Craven Cottage as a No 10 but spent most of his time on the ball in wider areas to the left and right.

Recent outings have also seen him push into more advanced areas as a matter of course.

Wirtz has come back into his own half far less, and instead has focused on finding pockets of space in areas where he can hurt the opposition.

The open-play touch graphics below also paint a very clear picture of how Wirtz has had more touches on the left side of Liverpool's attack in his last six matches.

A sizeable 37 per cent of Wirtz’s touches during his opening 15 appearances came centrally between the halfway line and 18-yard-box. Only 14 per cent were made on the left side from the halfway line to the byline.

Since the 2-1 win at Spurs, the percentage of Wirtz's touches in those central areas has reduced to 27 per cent, while the percentage on the left side has increased to 32 per cent.

Will things change now that Salah is back?

It is perhaps no coincidence Wirtz’s best form of the season arrived during a period when Mohamed Salah was away with Egypt at the African Cup of Nations.

That is no slight on Salah himself, but in his absence, Liverpool’s players clearly made the 22-year-old German more of a pivotal figure in the starting XI.

As discussed, he had a lot more of the ball during that spell and seemed to enjoy the freedom of drifting right across the attacking-midfield zone.

He had an impressive 103 touches against Burnley last time out, and those involvements were all over the final third.

Would Wirtz have had this many touches out on the right side if Salah had been playing?

Given that Liverpool like to leave the Egyptian open for switches of play, that is unlikely.

Has Slot’s adjustment also helped?

In recent matches, the Liverpool boss has used the likes of Alexis Mac Allister or Curtis Jones in the No 10 role.

They are box-to-box types who have solidified the XI because of their strong defensive capabilities.

This has in turn allowed Wirtz to play higher up the pitch, drifting into holes looking for 2v1s on either corner of the 18-yard box.

Jones has also been a huge ally, feeding Wirtz relentlessly with passes.

Both have played together in five of the last six matches, with Jones making 81 passes to Wirtz, by far the most of any Liverpool player.

Being part of a Liverpool side which has a more orthodox central midfielder operating at No 10 seems to suit Wirtz's willingness to drift around the final third.

Still more to come from Liverpool's No 7

While Liverpool fans will be relieved to see Wirtz now performing in such an impactful way, he still has scope for further improvement.

His single assist needs to be built upon, and he can certainly score more goals, having netted only three across his 21 league appearances so far.

Nevertheless, in open play, Wirtz has created the most chances (34) for Liverpool this season, and his 30 completed dribbles are also a team high.

It feels like only a matter of time before the gifted playmaker’s influence explodes.