I'm very definitely in a minority, but I think he's been decent. He's worked hard, tidy on the ball, keeps it ticking and created chances. Not his fault others aren't finishing those chances, nor is it his fault he's not being passed the ball for an easy goal.
He's quite young as well so a combination of new league, price tag (which a lot of players may feel they need to live up to so they take longer to just play their own game) and, as yet, still unfamiliar teammates and system. I really like him. I think once he hits his stride, there'll be no stopping him.
One of the issues is that the 10 role in this liverpool side is vastly different to his 10 role at Leverkusen where he had much more of a free role. You could see he was working hard but doesn't have the fitness levels of Szoboszlai At least Slot has started playing him on the left which makes a bit more sense in terms of his skillset.
I genuinely think he hasn't been as good as Carvalho, who is the same type of player, but obviously not as talented. We've tried several of this type of player over the years, but only Coutinho stands out as being a success. But you see City with Silva, David, and Bernardo, and you can see how this could work. He needs to develop an attitude though - Bernardo Silva is a nardy bastard, and it serves him well.
He's played well in the European games (except Galatasaray - and he wasn't the only one that night), but in the Prem games he's been middling, at best. As said, I don't think there's anything Bernaldo Silva does that he can't - even Modric. But he's got to get nasty, in my book. I wish we had a Tommy Smith in the team. Virgil is a great leader, but I think someone like Robbo should take him under his wing and show him the dark arts. Pity Mane has gone as well.
I think Wirtz is more the type of player that's been described as 'if he played in snow he wouldn't leave footprints'. He's built for stealth, not aggression.
I agree he’s been decent, if a little lightweight, getting knocked off the ball a little to easily for the level of football…..though I think he’s improved on that aspect recently too.
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Brilliant for Robbo and Scotland. Hope he stays fit and gets a chance to lead his country out at a WC.
Some amazing goals from Scotland last night. Great entertainment! The WC will be better for it to have Scotland there!
Just came here to say this. Proves that some of the players are still struggling with it too, made me a bit emotional watching it tbh
Inside Bayern’s dressing room Luis Díaz has spoken with a clarity that caught even members of the staff off guard. He has reportedly told teammates that the Bundesliga is nothing like what he fought through in the Premier League. The intensity feels softer, the rhythm slower and the spaces wider than anything he ever experienced in England. Díaz was stunned by how much freedom attackers are given here, how defenders retreat instead of confronting and how duels lack the violence and urgency he once met every single weekend. Luis Díaz expected adaptation, he expected pressure, he expected the strain of a new league, yet instead he found room to breathe. Teammates around him, especially those who once played in the Premier League, repeat his comparisons, that players in England survive by inches and seconds, while here entire pockets of space open around him and defenders move with a hesitation he never saw at Liverpool or anywhere else in the Premier League. There were also conversations with Bayern’s physios where it was said that, for his body, this league may be a blessing in the later stages of his career, offering fewer collisions, fewer sprints and fewer battles that leave marks for days. Even so, he finds himself taken aback by the drop in level, surprised by the gentleness of a league he assumed would test him far more deeply. Inside Bayern this has not gone unnoticed, as another elite footballer arrives from England and within weeks reaches the same conclusion many internally have feared, that the Bundesliga no longer carries the intensity of Europe’s best, that its pace comes in waves rather than storms, and that its resistance bends far too easily. It is a league that flatters attackers and exposes defenders, a league where world class players feel not challenged but unshackled. Luis Díaz expected a battle, instead he found space.
and Wirtz has learn't the same lesson . Personally have held the view for years that the BL is much easier to play in than PL and consider that needs to be factored in when signing players from there
