Iraola Defends Wirtz’s Impact Beyond Statistics
Andoni Iraola is not interested in the numbers next to Florian Wirtz’s name. Not yet. Not when, in his eyes, the £116m Germany international is already reshaping how Liverpool attack.
Wirtz lit up Liverpool’s midweek win over Atlético Madrid, just as he did in bursts during last season’s Champions League run. The criticism, though, has arrived quickly this term: one assist, no Premier League goals, and too many cheap turnovers for some tastes.
Iraola sees a different picture.
“Flo played very well against Atlético Madrid and I also think he has been unlucky,” the Liverpool manager said. “I remember the ‘goal’ he scored against Nottingham Forest; they gave it live and then VAR disallowed it. He could have had very good assists but we haven’t finished them. That is why you cannot just play because of the numbers.”
The message is clear. Production will come. Performance comes first.
“Whether a striker scores a lot of goals or he doesn’t, you have to look at the performances. Does he help us to play well? Yes,” Iraola said. “Well, someone will score the goals and someone will give the assists. I am not too focused on numbers.”
In an era obsessed with data, Iraola is pushing back. He sees a creative hub, not a spreadsheet entry.
“Nowadays everything is about numbers, everyone tells players you have to assist, you have to score goals,” he continued. “For me, you have to help us play well. Someone will score the goals and I don’t care if it is the midfielders like it was the other day. Someone will score the goals if we are doing well collectively.”
Against Atlético, Wirtz threaded the pass of the night, carving open the defence to put Bradley Barcola clean through. It went down as a missed chance, not a statistic in Wirtz’s favour, but Iraola filed it under something more important: proof of chemistry starting to form.
The 23-year-old is still learning the runs and habits of Barcola and fellow new signing Victor Muñoz. Iraola is convinced that once those relationships click, the influence – and the numbers – will follow.
“There is an argument to make that the wingers have changed more than anywhere else,” he said. “Now we have new weapons we can use with Bradley and Victor. With Florian, he is key for us.”
The manager expects the understanding to accelerate quickly.
“I am not worried because he will quickly learn where Victor prefers the ball or where Bradley prefers the ball,” Iraola said. “And, also, Bradley in just his second game you could see they already had a good association. I am not very worried.”
For now, Liverpool’s record signing is being judged by his manager on a different scale: how he knits together a new-look frontline, how he drags the team up the pitch, how often he makes the crowd lean forward.
The numbers can wait.
