“I don’t see where Wirtz gets into the team,” ex-England captain Wayne Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “I think it was a lot of money. I think Wirtz actually damages the balance of Liverpool and how they play.
“He’s a top player and I’m sure he will get better – but he’s had a slow start and I think there’s no denying that.”
Wirtz’s current struggles are not down to a shortage of endeavour. He attempted more dribbles or shots on goal than anyone else for Liverpool in Istanbul. He will hope his hard work is rewarded soon.
Liverpool statistics also back up the theory they are now easier to get at, needing late goals against Bournemouth, Newcastle , Arsenal, Burnley, Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Southampton in the Carabao Cup. They also conceded two-goal leads against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Atletico.
And, again, you can compare the start of this season to the beginning of last – they have had only two clean sheets in 10 games this season having kept six in their first 10 last season.
“Right now they’re not there yet,” said ex-Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge on Amazon Prime. “When you look at the way they’re playing right now they’re not the same team as last year. You can see the chemistry is not right at this present moment in this time – but they have plenty of time to get it right. It’s not panic stations.”
Slot, perfectly understandably, delivered measured perspective as he said: “We are not so far off the level shown last season. This is sometimes what the schedule can bring, Galatasaray is not a simple game. We now play Chelsea away, a difficult game.
“The margins are small and they were last season. For the second time in a row we are on the wrong side.
“I saw a lot of things in the first half, but the second half was much less. I don’t think in the second half there was a lot of playing time, their striker was on the floor four or five times. It was difficult to get momentum in the game.”
For all that, however, the sense of calm control and composure that was the hallmark of Liverpool’s title win has been lost – and was missing again the fierce surroundings of Istanbul.
