“He passed the ball to a blue jersey more” - Liverpool legend calls Florian Wirtz ‘average’ for performance on Premier League debut

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol labelled Florian Wirtz's Premier League debut as average following the Reds' 4-2 win against Bournemouth. Arne Slot's side managed to start their title defence with a win but it was anything but a straightforward victory.

Expectations were massive from Florian Wirtz as he made his Premier League debut against Bournemouth on Friday, August 15. The German playmaker moved to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a British record £116 million fee.

However, former Liverpool right-back Steve Nicol was far from impressed with the 22-year-old's display against the Cherries. The former Scotland international highlighted how Wirtz gave away possession too many times and looked lost on the pitch.

Nicol insisted that it will take time for the Reds to tick this season following a major overhaul of the squad. However, he believes that Wirtz should be trying to do more in the final third rather than coming deep to get the ball. Nicol told ESPN FC:

“The conundrum going forward is going to be, ‘when is Wirtz going to start doing what he was brought in to do?’ I thought he was pretty average to be honest. He passed the ball to a blue jersey more than he did to a red jersey. Most things he did, it was not convincing. There was no real pace about him. He was kind of floating around like he wasn’t sure where he should be to get the ball. At the end of the day, that takes time. You can’t just throw three or four or five players together and think they are going to understand what everybody is looking for."

Nicol added:

"But he’s the obvious one who is looking and searching to figure out what he should be doing. What he should be doing is getting on the ball inside the final third, but he doesn’t seem to be doing that. And when he’s coming short, he’s not doing enough with [the ball] either. They’ve got to figure out how to use this guy to the best of his abilities because there’s no question he can play. He’s just got to get in the right positions, get the right balls and then he has to play the right pass.”

While Wirtz did not enjoy the best Premier League debut he had hoped for, he often showed glimpses of his undisputed quality. The attacking midfielder covered the most distance (11.3 km) by any player while he was on the pitch, which shows his hunger to get involved in the game.

The 22-year-old had 69 touches and completed 37 of his 48 attempted passes with 77% accuracy. He made three key passes, two tackles and won three duels while losing six duels.

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Jamie Carragher pinpoints Liverpool's major problem in their 4-2 win against Bournemouth

Jamie Carragher has hit out at Ibrahima Konate following Liverpool's 4-2 win against Bournemouth on Friday, August 15. Arne Slot's side looked vulnerable defensively against the Cherries and Carragher was far from pleased with their defensive setup.

The pundit also insisted that the Reds cannot hope to retain the Premier League title if they continue to push everyone up to attack. He said, as quoted by Liverpool.com:

"It is unbelievable. Arne Slot's made those changes to make sure things like this don't happen. Fantastic from Semenyo - but Liverpool have had this problem. How many players were ahead of the ball - maybe eight players - when they were winning 2-1? That can't happen. It's absolutely shocking at this level. For Semenyo to run that far and get his shot away is incredible - but where Konate is going? He had a really, really poor night tonight at centre-back."

The former Liverpool defender added:

"That is not right. It's not. It's not only game on top of the Community Shield - but I've watched enough football in my life. This idea that everyone bombs forward, it's not for me. I don't like it. At no time last week in the Community Shield did I ever feel Liverpool were in control of the game. You can draw 2-2 with Palace, that can happen."

He concluded:

"But it's how easy Crystal Palace could get at Liverpool, how easy it was tonight. In the first half, Bournemouth should have been at least 2-0 up at one stage. There is definitely a problem that Arne Slot has to solve. People say 'they need a centre-back'. A centre-back doesn't fix that. He just takes Konate's place. It's about the make-up of the team with two attacking full-backs and a number ten who more interested in getting on the ball than defending like Szoboszlai was last season. If Liverpool continue like that, I don't think they will win the league."

Liverpool have looked vulnerable on the break throughout the pre-season and things have not improved as the season has started. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have both found their way to unlock Arne Slot's side which will certainly make the manager concerned.