Liverpool lucky to have improving Wirtz, says Bradley

Liverpool are lucky to have Florian Wirtz and the playmaker’s quality was never in doubt despite his long goal drought, believes team-mate Conor Bradley.

Wirtz finally got off the mark for the Reds as they beat bottom club Wolves 2-1 on Saturday, prodding home to put them 2-0 up after being fed by Hugo Ekitike.

He did not have a single goal or assist in his first 15 Premier League appearances but now has two goal involvements in his last two matches, having also provided an assist for Alexander Isak against Tottenham in Liverpool’s previous match.

Wirtz’s all-round performance against Wolves was also positive, as he completed seven of nine dribbles – the most by a Liverpool player in a Premier League game since April 2024 (Ryan Gravenberch versus West Ham, also seven).

Only Iliman Ndiaye versus Liverpool in September (nine) and Jeremy Doku against Burnley (eight) have completed more in a Premier League match this season.

The former Bayer Leverkusen man created more chances (three) and played more passes in the final third (54) than any other player on the pitch, while winning 11 of his 15 duels.

Though Wirtz needed time to settle in following his €132m (£116) move to Merseyside, Bradley always expected him to come good.

“I was buzzing for him,” Bradley said of Wirtz’s first goal.

“Obviously, he’s had to wait a little bit of time for it, but I was so happy for him. He’s such a terrific player. We see it in training every day, how good he is with the ball.

“You’d rather have him on your team than not on your team, put it that way. He’s terrific to have.

“You can sort of just give him the ball in any area of the pitch, and he’s able to do something with it and keep the ball for us. He’s so important to have, and we’re lucky to have him.”

Wirtz will look to continue his upturn against Leeds United on New Year’s Day, and he could register a goal involvement in three straight league matches for the first time since a run of six in November and December 2024, for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.