Neville: Wirtz Played Like a Kid; This Is One of the Worst Liverpool Games I’ve Ever Seen
In Round 11 of the Premier League, Liverpool lost 0-3 away to Manchester City. Manchester United legend Gary Neville discussed Kai Havertz—who had a summer transfer fee of £116 million—in an interview with Camel.live. The German international is yet to score or assist in 11 Premier League games this season, struggling to adapt to the league.
On Wirtz
Neville said: “Wirtz is a problem, and we can’t shy away from the facts. He cost over £100 million. I said a few weeks ago that Kvaratskhelia played like a kid, and today I think Wirtz looked like a kid too—that’s not acceptable.”
“Wirtz is clearly talented, an excellent technical player, but he was dominated by players like Nunes in the game, and his performance on the pitch is worrying. He didn’t show the required quality against Manchester City.”
Neville pointed out that Liverpool must find a way to bring out Wirtz’s best form. Recently, head coach Arne Slot moved him from the central position back to his preferred left flank. Despite an impressive performance in the Champions League game against Real Madrid, he shrank back again in the Premier League match against Manchester City.
Neville said: “He’s a German international, but he’s lacking in the physicality of the high-intensity Premier League. The team must help him adapt, bring out his resilience, and get him up to speed as soon as possible. Liverpool have to stick with him.”
Neville criticizes Liverpool’s performance
Neville said: “This game was absolutely terrible—one of the worst Liverpool games I’ve seen in a long time. They didn’t seem to know what to do; this is a wake-up call.”
Neville also noted that the team is clearly lacking in physicality in the Premier League, a problem not as evident in Champions League games: “Their tempo wasn’t fast enough, and they were seriously lacking in fitness and physicality. As a manager, I’d be very concerned. The defense was also poor, and the attack lacked cohesion.”
Overall, Neville believes Liverpool and Wirtz need to reflect on the issues over the next week and find solutions. Improvements must be made both in attack and defense.
