Florian Wirtz created more chances for the Reds in the away win at Brentford than any other Premier League player has done in the past five years. Liverpool coach Andoni Iraola is full of praise.
A German has been topping the Premier League’s assist rankings for the current season since last week. Anyone who would have bet on Florian Wirtz in this regard before the season started would have been proven wrong. Instead of the Liverpool player, Brighton’s Pascal Groß currently tops the table with four assists.
Wirtz, on the other hand, has two. This is partly because, on Saturday afternoon in west London, he set up Victor Munoz’s equaliser – which turned the game around to secure a 2–1 away win at Brentford FC. Behind closed doors, however – having been named man of the match after the final whistle – Wirtz would have good reasons to argue that he deserved one or two more assists.
According to data provider Opta, the 23-year-old created nine chances from open play during his 90 minutes at Brentford. A record figure when looking back over the past five seasons. The last player to achieve such a tally in the Premier League was Sadio Mané in January 2021, also for the Reds against Burnley – incidentally, Liverpool lost 0–1 despite having 27 shots to Burnley’s 6. Away from home, the last player to create more chances than Wirtz was Man City’s Samir Nasri in August 2011 against Spurs (10 in a 5–1 win at White Hart Lane).
Liverpool with a man advantage in the second half
“Especially in the second half, in a situation like that, you need a player like Flo,” enthused Reds coach Andoni Iraola after the match. “There’s little space on the pitch, just small gaps; you have little time on the ball. You have to recognise the subtleties, because Brentford defend very, very well as a team in the penalty area.”
Despite the Bees’ solid defence, it’s also true that there was simply a bit more space on the pitch for Wirtz and Liverpool in the second half. Following a red card for Yegor Yarmolyuk for a slight headbutt shortly before half-time, the visitors played the entire second half with a man advantage.
Nevertheless, Iraola emphasised: “You need players like Flo, like Rio, like Victor, who can make a difference.” Muñoz – sent through down the right flank by Wirtz – scored the equaliser, whilst Alexander Isak netted the winner in the 70th minute from a Bradley Barcola assist.
” “We played very well against ten men in the minutes leading up to the 2–1,” analysed the Liverpool manager, who was also likely pleased with the 21–10 shot count. “We were patient, we found good positions and controlled the game.” However, after taking the lead, the decisive blow was missing; Barcola, for example, still hit the crossbar. A chance that Wirtz hadn’t set up in this instance, however.