Slot must finally sell Liverpool flop who lost 100% duels

Liverpool are their own worst enemies in the Premier League this season.

Arne Slot‘s side’s revival continues, with Wolverhampton Wanderers beaten at Anfield. But once again, the Reds supporters have been treated some gut-wrenching viewing in the closing stages, under the cosh after conceding another set-piece.

Liverpool are back into the top four, with Ryan Gravenberch opening the scoring before Florian Wirtz connected with the in-form Hugo Ekitike before the break.

How Wirtz needed that one. The German playmaker is beginning to grow into his skin on Merseyside, and he has finally broken his duck.

How Florian Wirtz has come alive at Liverpool

Liverpool paid Bayer Leverkusen £116m for Wirtz’s signature this summer. It was the all-time British record before Alexander Isak moved to the club on deadline day.

Wirtz, 22, has been one of the most criticised Premier League players this season. The spotlight has been blinding at times. But now he has scored, rubber-stamping what has quietly been an impressive run of form for the German international.

Having assisted Ekitike last week, the striker returned the favour against Wolves, who remain at the foot of the table on just two points. He won 11 duels and completed eight dribbles, as per Sofascore, head and shoulders above his peers and opponents.

Wirtz is coming alive, and it’s important to remember Liverpool have been abject and imbalanced this year, far below the expected standard.

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He has a future at Liverpool, alright, but the same sadly can’t be said for all of the Reds, with one of Wirtz’s attacking teammates heading in the other direction against doomed Wolves.

FSG must now sell Liverpool flop

Liverpool have a talented crop of forwards, and Federico Chiesa has found regular minutes hard to come by since joining from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m fee in 2024.

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His fortunes have improved since the summer, but he has equally been kept on the fringes, albeit playing more of a part than in last year’s title-winning team.

Injuries and absences opened the door for a rare Premier League start against Wolves, but the £150k-per-week Italian failed to grasp it.

The Liverpool Echo summed it up: while Chiesa played a part in Gravenberch’s opening goal, he was largely ineffective down the right wing, minimally involved and lacking the vim and vigour that was required to catch Slot’s eye. He was branded with a match-low 5/10 score.

Chiesa has found opportunities few and far between at Liverpool, with this his first Premier League start at Anfield. He lost all three of his ground duels, and he didn’t complete a dribble.

Perhaps that was a chance he could not allow to pass him by, and yet it has, carrying off into the bracing wind the prospect of regular starting berths over the next several weeks. It is worth remembering Dominik Szoboszlai missed out on Saturday due to suspension.

With rumours of interest surfacing from his homeland in recent months, FSG might conclude that Chiesa should be sold after his season-and-a-half in Liverpool. When Mohamed Salah returns from AFCON, his playing time will be further reduced, especially as Slot has shown a willingness to field Jeremie Frimpong in an advanced berth.

‘Fede’ has shown himself to have a Midas touch in front of goal this season, scoring twice off the bench in the Premier League. But he’s perhaps better off as an impact substitute.

Maybe Slot knows a thing about management after all. If Liverpool act on their interest in a new winger, it could prompt Chiesa’s sale. That might be the best move for all parties, should the Italian want to play regular football throughout the rest of his prime years.

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