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Beth Lindop
Arne Slot hailed Florian Wirtz‘s performance in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers as “special,” acknowledging that the midfielder felt “relieved” after netting his first goal for the club.
The 22-year-old has faced scrutiny for his lack of scoring since arriving at Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in a transfer worth £100 million during the summer.
Wirtz doubled Liverpool’s lead against Wolves after Ryan Gravenberch scored the opening goal. The Reds went on to secure their fourth consecutive victory across all competitions despite a header in the second half from Santiago Bueno.
“It was definitely a relief for him,” Slot commented on Wirtz’s first goal. “I could see his reaction after scoring, and his teammates were genuinely thrilled for him.
“In football, it’s true that we often get evaluated based on results, and individual performance is frequently measured by goals and assists. But we sometimes overlook the other contributions made during a game.
“He has had multiple strong performances for us, and I believe he’s improving with every match. He is getting fitter and was getting closer to scoring. It’s no surprise that he found the net today. However, he knows that one goal isn’t enough, and I hope he can add many more to the tally.
“I was also impressed by his performance in many phases of the game today; he was special in a number of moments.”
Liverpool’s win propelled them to fifth place in the league, but Slot acknowledged that there is still work to be done for his team to ascend further in the standings.
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“Naturally, when you go 2-0 up at half-time, you expect a different kind of second half than what we experienced. But football can shift rapidly with a single goal, and that’s what happened today,” the Dutch coach noted.
“Even though we retained possession after their goal, the game became more evenly matched, and we were on edge whenever they approached our defense. That being said, I don’t think we conceded many significant chances.