Iraola Defends Wirtz's Impact Over Statistics
Andoni Iraola is refusing to measure Florian Wirtz’s Liverpool career in goals and assists.
The £116m Germany international has just one assist and no Premier League goals to his name this season, and his tendency to lose possession has drawn criticism. Yet his manager sees a very different picture – one defined by control, chemistry and the way Liverpool move when Wirtz is on the pitch.
Wirtz shone again in midweek during Liverpool’s win over Atlético Madrid, adding to a string of standout Champions League displays last season. For Iraola, that is where the judgement should start.
“Flo played very well against Atlético Madrid and I also think he has been unlucky,” Iraola said.
He pointed straight to the “goal” against Nottingham Forest, celebrated in real time before VAR wiped it out. On another day, it stands. On another day, a couple of half-chances he has created are finished and the numbers look very different.
“That is why you cannot just play because of the numbers,” Iraola argued.
The obsession with statistics, he feels, misses the point of what Wirtz brings.
He broadened the argument out to all forwards. “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. Well, someone will score the goals and someone will give the assists.”
In other words: judge the orchestra, not just the soloist.
Iraola sees Wirtz as the organiser in a new-look attack, the player who connects and manipulates space. Against Atlético, the 23‑year‑old slid a superb pass through for Bradley Barcola, a moment that summed up his eye for angles and timing. It should have been a goal; it goes down as nothing on the stat sheet.
“I am not too focused on numbers,” Iraola said.
“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. Someone will score the goals and I don’t care if it is the midfielders like it was the other day. Someone will score the goals if we are doing well collectively.”
The dynamic around Wirtz is shifting quickly. Liverpool’s wide areas have been overhauled and Iraola admits that, of all the positions, the wingers have changed the most. That brings teething problems but also new possibilities.
“Now we have new weapons we can use with Bradley and Victor,” he said, name‑checking Barcola and fellow summer arrival Victor Muñoz. Wirtz sits at the centre of that rebuild. “With Florian, he is key for us.”
The task now is repetition. Knowing where Barcola wants the ball when he darts inside. Understanding Muñoz’s runs when he drifts off the shoulder. Those patterns take weeks, not days.
“I am not worried because he will quickly learn where Victor prefers the ball or where Bradley prefers the ball,” Iraola said. The signs, he insists, are already there. “And, also, Bradley in just his second game you could see they already had a good association. I am not very worried.”
The message is clear. The numbers will come when the relationships click. For Iraola, Wirtz is already doing the hard part – making Liverpool play.
