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FLORIAN WIRTZ BREAKS SILENCE AFTER GARY NEVILLE CRITIQUES LIVERPOOL PERFORMANCE

Liverpool's Florian Wirtz faces harsh criticism from pundits like Gary Neville after a tough start. A German report claims the £120m signing is "not interested" in the noise, blaming it on ex-Man Utd commentators.

Florian Wirtz Breaks Silence After Gary Neville Critiques Liverpool Performance
Florian Wirtz Addresses Liverpool Backlash - Photo Credit: Getty Images

After playing a very promising game against Real Madrid, Florian Wirtz appeared to have turned things around at Liverpool. Unfortunately, that turned out to be somewhat of a false dawn on the following outing, much like the team as a whole.

After suffering a humiliating 3-0 loss to Manchester City, Liverpool went into the international break with a bad taste in their mouth. If the refereeing performance was poor, it was only surpassed by Arne Slot's team's performance, which had nothing to gain from the contest.

It is critical to evaluate Wirtz in light of these group conflicts. However, it is also not unreasonable to argue that, even with a struggling club, he ought to have been able to make a bigger impression given the name and cost he brought with him.

Nevertheless, people like Gary Neville have undoubtedly added too much. Slot must be the main target of attention, given how badly everyone is playing, but the media is still swarming Wirtz like vultures.

Wirtz has had a bit of a baptism of fire, even by English press standards. Neville threw a fit at him during the Manchester City loss.

Neville stated on the Gary Neville Podcast that "Wirtz is an issue, let us call it what it is." "There is a problem.

Even though he is worth £120 million ($158 million), he appeared to be a young lad. That is not possible.

Neville called it a "big worry" and, just for good measure, added that Wirtz had been "mauled" and "chucked around the pitch" by Man City. "Really awful day" is how he described the German international's performance.

Therefore, you could understandably ask where Wirtz's head is when he departs to represent his nation. However, the national news reports that he is handling things calmly.

According to a Bild story, readers do not have to feel sorry for Wirtz. He is "not especially interested" in the comments, which is the main reason for this.

The article also points out that the harshest criticism seems to share a common trait. The transfer has been described to as "destructive" by Wayne Rooney, "trouble" by Neville, and "question" by Rio Ferdinand.

According to the German publication, all of these former players who are now commentators have close ties to Manchester United. Therefore, it is not entirely shocking that they are keen to destroy a costly Liverpool recruit.

To be fair, that is probably a bit harsh, especially for Neville. He is now nearly as well-known as a commentator as he was as a Manchester United player, and he is not afraid to voice his honest thoughts.

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Furthermore, it is not as if Wirtz has received no criticism from Liverpool sources. Only the most ardent (or possibly unyielding) followers would deny that they had a little higher expectation.

However, the Man Utd ties might contribute to the explanation of why the criticism has been so harsh at such an early stage. The vast majority of those who watched Wirtz in Germany share the Bild article's unwavering confidence that he will do well as those around him step up their game.

Furthermore, Liverpool will not support any action that enables Wirtz to ignore the criticism and silence the clamour, even if the Man Utd connections do not fully explain everything. Repeated external attacks can even be welcomed since Slot requires a siege mindset to restore his team to its peak.

THE INSTAGRAM CLUE: WHAT KONATE’S ZIPPED-MOUTH EMOJI REALLY MEANS FOR FLORIAN WIRTZ

Florian Wirtz finally breaks his Liverpool duck! See the heartwarming reactions from Van Dijk, Isak, and Konate after the 2-1 win.

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Florian Wirtz Finally Scores

After Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Wolves on Saturday, the players kept showing Florian Wirtz the love. The German midfielder's goal wrapped up a good performance, ending a tough year on a high note.

Wirtz made a big £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen in June. Before Alexander Isak came to Liverpool, that was the highest amount ever paid by a British team. Since then, the 22-year-old has needed some time to get used to his new team and surroundings, and the team as a group has had its share of struggles.

But the Reds are finishing 2025 strong with four wins in a row, and Wirtz is now really taking off in his Anfield career.

He celebrated his first goal on Instagram with photos of him celebrating with his teammates in front of the Main Stand. Liverpool's players seemed really happy to see him score and showed their support on his post.

Alexander Isak, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, Federico Chiesa, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike, Ibrahima Konate, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Oakley Cannonier, Rio Ngumoha, Ryan Gravenberch, Virgil van Dijk, Wataru Endo, and Will Wright all liked the post.

Plus, some of them left comments. Isak, Kerkez, and Frimpong (Wirtz's good friend who came with him from Leverkusen and assisted Gravenberch's first goal on Saturday) left red heart emojis.

Gravenberch and Jones sent fire emojis, while Konate's response was interesting. He just left a zipped-mouth emoji, not saying anything else.

Wirtz got a lot of criticism while he waited to score after his big transfer to Liverpool this summer, but that died down after he made the difference against Wolves.

Wirtz told BBC Sport after ending his goalless run: It felt great to be on the field with the fans. I was very happy, and I still am.

I knew I would score eventually. I wanted to start scoring and assisting sooner, but it is what it is, and I have to deal with it. I know it will happen, and I'm trying to keep going.

We played great in the first half. Everyone worked hard. In the last 20 minutes, we made it hard on ourselves. I can't explain why, but we need to fix that.

That's how we want to play. We want to be up there at the top of the table. It hasn't been an easy start for us, but we're getting better and getting the points.

FLORIAN WIRTZ UNLEASHED: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE £116M STAR’S FIRST LIVERPOOL GOAL AND CRAMP

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits his team's set-piece defending is a major problem after conceding 12 goals from dead balls.

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Wirtz Hits Milestone as Liverpool Grinds Out 2-1 Victory Over Wolves

Arne Slot is pretty open about a big issue, even though his Liverpool team has climbed to fourth in the league, racking up three wins in a row and staying unbeaten for six games. He's straight up saying that this one problem has let in 12 goals in the Prem.

We might be the only team that can't score from set pieces. Even worse, we keep letting them in, he said, with a bit of a smile.

Despite their recent comeback, Slot and Liverpool clearly worry. It's something that Virgil van Dijk, the team's leader and the defence boss, is also concerned about. Remember how Wolves scored a corner at Anfield, thanks to Santiago Bueno? That turned what should've been an easy win, after Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz scored in the first half, into a nail-biter.

"We've defended loads of set pieces well," says Van Dijk. Still, the truth is we've conceded too many goals like that, and it stings. We've got to sort it out.

It's all about practising, training, looking at the tapes... we just have to get better. I'd say most of the time, like 75% or more, it's not even about winning the first header; it's what happens next that kills us.

After Alisson made a save, Bueno was quickest to react, and Liverpool just couldn't get back into gear. Still, they hung on for the win, which was also where Florian Wirtz, the £116 million signing, scored his first goal for Liverpool.

Van Dijk was quick to celebrate with the 22-year-old German and seemed really happy for his teammate, who's been trying to live up to the hype and that huge price tag. The Liverpool captain did mention that Wirtz is still adjusting to the speed and physicality of the Prem.

He's getting used to playing for Liverpool, and how we want to play, Van Dijk explains. He's getting used to the intensity.

He got some cramps after about 70 minutes, I think. It happens. He just needs to keep at it. He's a smart player who's calm on the ball.

He finds space in the middle and can be a big player for us. He wants to score and assist, which is great, but his work rate and the chances he makes are even more important, in my opinion.

I'm really happy for him. You could see it in the celebrations. Everyone's buzzing for him. It was a big goal for us. I was really pleased for him. He had a great game. Hopefully, there's more to come from him.

This win puts Liverpool in fourth place in the league, sounding ready to go into the year strong. But Van Dijk isn't getting carried away, saying, We just need to try to be consistent and get the wins.

We'll see how it all goes this season. There are loads of games left. We've got the FA Cup coming up, and we want to do well in the Champions League too.

We should only be thinking about being in the best shape for our next game. There's an exciting challenge ahead with so many games coming up.

They're going to be tough games, starting with Leeds, Fulham, and then Arsenal. Let's get stuck in and enjoy it.

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