Florian Wirtz helps Liverpool beat Brentford, but Iraola’s doubts linger

Florian Wirtz, for Liverpool, was central as the Reds bounced back on Saturday at Brentford, overturning an early deficit to win after the hosts were reduced to 10 men before half-time.

Wirtz answered recent criticism over his inability to match the form that convinced Liverpool to pay £116m in June 2025 to Bayer Leverkusen. Even with the impact, his influence on the team’s structure remained a question: he created nine chances from open play—more than any other player in a Premier League match over the past six seasons—and completed 53 of 65 passes (81.5%), including 38 in the final third.

The issue around the No. 10

Danny Murphy said the midfield shape is the problem. In his view, using Wirtz as a number 10 makes Liverpool “too easy to play against” because the spaces are too big, with the side relying heavily on two midfielders to cover the ground.

Wirtz also leads the season’s chance creation in the Premier League, level on 18 with Brighton’s Pascal Groß. He came into Liverpool’s fightback and has now assisted in back-to-back games across all competitions for the first time, though it has been only his second goal involvement in seven league matches.

Iraola: injuries and schedule

The win moved Liverpool up to fifth, delivering their first away league win after conceding first since December 2023 and ending a run of 19 winless away league games. Iraola said the squad is in “a delicate situation” with an intense run of four games in 10 days, and fresh setbacks after Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong were injured, with Villarreal next in the Champions League on Tuesday (BBC Sport).