Florian Wirtz achieved a rare feat not seen in the Premier League for 15 years, helping Liverpool halt Brentford's unbeaten run.
The German midfielder has been in the firing line recently, with Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher seizing every opportunity to voice his dissatisfaction. Following a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Carragher claimed on Sky Sports that Wirtz was failing to live up to his star status, was not stepping up in the role of a number ten, and should be omitted from the starting lineup. Furthermore, the pundit berated him for supposedly not tracking back and not contributing defensively.
However, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola continued to back Wirtz, placing him in the starting XI in a more advanced role against Brentford, and he produced a standout performance.
Wirtz's historic stats against Brentford:
- 9 chances created: Wirtz became the first player in the Premier League to create nine chances of any kind in a single match since Dejan Kulusevski in 2024.
- All from open play: Every chance he created came from open play, making him the first player to achieve nine open-play chances since Sadio Mane did so against Burnley in 2021.
- Away record: Wirtz became the first player since Samir Nasri in 2011 to create nine or more open-play chances in an away Premier League match.
Defensive work and running stats
In response to the accusations of not putting in the miles, Wirtz delivered record-breaking physical stats for Liverpool:
- In the match against Brentford, he covered a remarkable 13.4 km.
- For the season so far, Wirtz has already run 75.5 km, which is nearly 10 km more than his closest teammate, Milos Kerkez, at 65.7 km.
- On average, over 90 minutes among regular starters, Wirtz leads Liverpool with a distance of 12.2 km, surpassing Alexis Mac Allister's 11.4 km.
