Liverpool secured consecutive wins against Athletic Club in two friendly matches held at Anfield on Monday evening. In the opening game, 16-year-old prodigy Rio Nguhoma shone brightly as Liverpool triumphed 4-1.
For the second match, manager Arne Slot deployed a stronger lineup featuring new signings Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike, alongside established stars Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool clinched another victory thanks to an early goal from Salah in the 14th minute and a brace from Cody Gakpo in the second half.
Florian Wirtz Receives Low Rating Despite Highlights
Wirtz’s performance, making his Anfield debut, drew attention. The German midfielder, signed this summer from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record £116 million, played in the second game. Although he displayed some skillful touches and showed flashes of his talent before being substituted in the 74th minute, SofaScore was unimpressed, awarding him a modest 6.0/10 — the lowest rating of any player in that match.
His stats included completing 28 out of 35 passes (80%), two key passes, one accurate cross out of six attempts, zero successful dribbles from four tries, missing two clear chances, and losing possession 17 times.
A video compilation of Wirtz’s highlights was shared on X and quickly went viral, amassing over 1,300 retweets and one million views, providing an interesting contrast to the low rating from SofaScore.
Arne Slot Praises Wirtz’s Creativity
After the match, Slot commented on Wirtz, telling ESPN: “There’s always room to improve, and we’ve added some valuable new weapons. Florian brings a lot of creativity in the final third, especially important since we lost some creativity from the back with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure. Trent’s crosses and ability to find runners were unique, but Flo contributes that creativity from a different position.”
Reflecting on the two wins, Slot told Liverpool’s official site: “We created plenty of chances and scored seven goals in total — four in the first match and three in the second — which is very encouraging. We definitely missed some opportunities, especially in the first half of the second game, where we could have scored more. But the chance creation and scoring seven goals over two games is positive.”
Liverpool’s next fixture is the Community Shield final against Crystal Palace on Sunday, August 10, followed by their Premier League opener against Bournemouth at Anfield five days later.
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