Iraola Defends Wirtz's Value Beyond Stats

Andoni Iraola is not interested in judging Florian Wirtz by a goals-and-assists graphic.

The Liverpool manager has nailed his colours to the mast over the £116m Germany international, insisting the playmaker’s worth lies in how he makes his team function – not in the bare Premier League return of one assist and no goals.

Wirtz caught the eye in Liverpool’s midweek win over Atlético Madrid, just as he did during some standout Champions League displays last season. Yet this campaign he has been targeted for the number of times he has lost the ball and for a lack of end product.

Iraola pushed back.

“Flo played very well against Atlético Madrid and I also think he has been unlucky,” he said. He pointed straight to the disallowed strike at Nottingham Forest – given in real time, scrubbed off by VAR – as an example of how the margins have gone against him. Clear chances he has created have gone unfinished. The raw data, Iraola argued, tells only half the story.

“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,” he said. “Someone will score the goals and someone will give the assists. I am not too focused on numbers.”

In an era when players are constantly reminded of their expected goals and chance-creation charts, Iraola’s stance is striking. “Nowadays everything is about numbers, everyone tells players you have to assist, you have to score goals. For me, you have to help us play well,” he said. If the collective is right, he added, the goals will come – from midfielders if necessary, as they did “the other day”.

Against Atlético, Wirtz threaded a superb opening for Bradley Barcola, a glimpse of what Iraola believes will become a decisive partnership once the 23-year-old’s understanding with the France winger and fellow new signing Victor Muñoz matures.

“There is an argument to make that the wingers have changed more than anywhere else,” Iraola said. “Now we have new weapons we can use with Bradley and Victor. With Florian, he is key for us.”

The Liverpool manager expects Wirtz to quickly tune into the runs and preferences of his new wide forwards. “He will quickly learn where Victor prefers the ball or where Bradley prefers the ball,” Iraola said. The early signs, particularly Barcola’s second outing, have encouraged him. “Bradley in just his second game you could see they already had a good association. I am not very worried.”

The numbers will keep coming for scrutiny. Iraola, clearly, intends to keep looking somewhere else.