Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Andoni Iraola believes Florian Wirtz should not be held to different standards at Liverpool and has asked everyone to judge him on whether he is playing well.
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last season for a reported £116m transfer fee, but he has yet to hit the ground running during his time on Merseyside.
The 23-year-old has registered seven goals and nine assists in 54 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, and he has managed just one assist in 2026-27.
Only Dominik Szoboszlai (16) and Cody Gakpo (10) have created more chances for Liverpool this campaign than Wirtz (nine), though many have still questioned his displays.
He missed Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Tottenham in the EFL Cup in midweek, being rested ahead of Sunday’s trip to face Iraola’s former club Bournemouth in the Premier League.
One of Iraola’s predecessors, Jurgen Klopp, called Wirtz up for his first Germany squad but said people should stop expecting “special moments” from the former Leverkusen star.
“He should be judged like everybody. Like, if he plays well, if he doesn’t play well, I always say, ‘how does the team play when you are on the pitch?’,” Iraola said of Wirtz.
“I rate Florian highly, he understands what we need from him, he is trying to help in every aspect of the game.
“Obviously, he will also want to add assists or goals, but he is helping us in a lot of different areas.
“Also, we could give him a rest [against Spurs] the other day that he needed, because he’s put in a good effort in the games.”
On target at the AXA Training Centre pic.twitter.com/153eICnVbz
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 17, 2026
Iraola is set to face his former club Bournemouth for the first time, with this the first time a Liverpool manager has faced one of their former Premier League clubs since March 2015, when Brendan Rodgers won 1-0 against Swansea City.
Reds managers are unbeaten in seven against their former sides (W5 D2), since Kenny Dalglish lost 2-0 against Newcastle United in April 2012.
Iraola guided the Cherries to the Europa League last season, and new boss Marco Rose inspired a winning European bow as they beat LaLiga side Real Sociedad 2-1.
However, Bournemouth are winless in their first four Premier League matches this season (D3 L1) – only in 2023-24 have they had a longer winless start to a Premier League campaign, when they failed to win their first nine under Iraola.
“I don’t think they’ve changed too much. Definitely in terms of names. They’re using mostly the same starting XI, with very few changes,” Iraola added.
“They lost Marcos Senesi, and they’ve signed Antonio Silva, a very similar kind of player.
“The main ideas and the philosophy. I was lucky also to talk to Marco Rose before leaving. It hasn’t changed too much. They continue to be very dangerous, a very good team.”
Iraola was also on hand to discuss Rio Ngumoha and Alex Scott, who were included in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures.
“Very happy for both. They both absolutely deserve it,” Iraola said. “They also went to help the national team before the tournament, and I’m sure they did a good job.
“I can only speak well about both. Very deserved, very ready. And I hope they both enjoy it, yes.”
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