Wirtz criticised after 3-0 defeat by Manchester City – taken off after 66 minutes
Liverpool lost 3-0 to Manchester City at Anfield. Germany international Florian Wirtz was substituted after 66 minutes and sharply criticised by English pundits.
Archive image · Photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Liverpool lost their home game against Manchester City 3-0 on Sunday. After Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card (62'), Erling Haaland (65'), substitute Jérémy Doku (68') and Rayan Cherki (78') scored for City. Florian Wirtz was replaced in the 66th minute, shortly after the opening goal.
English media gave the 23-year-old mostly poor marks; GOAL rated him 3.5 out of 10. Sky pundit Jamie Carragher asked, according to SPOX: “Has he dominated a single game so far?” Thomas Hitzlsperger said on Sky: “I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about him again today.”
Wirtz was part of Germany's squad at the 2026 World Cup. Germany's next internationals are on 13 November against Serbia in Belgrade and on 16 November against the Netherlands in Berlin; head coach Jürgen Klopp intends to name a smaller squad for them.