Arne Slot won't be happy with performance of 41-touch Liverpool ace, he had the ball less than Alisson

Liverpool were the worst team when facing Newcastle in their second Premier League clash of the season.

Despite this, the Reds managed to beat the Magpies 3-2 at St James’ Park on Monday evening, with Anthony Gordon even getting shown a red card.

Others, such as Joelinton and Sandro Tonali, also left the game early, with the two midfielders getting forced off the pitch due to injury.

This has left Eddie Howe’s men in a rather precarious position, especially since Alexander Isak’s future still hasn’t been decided.

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However, it’s not only Newcastle that had a rough time of it on Monday evening.

Florian Wirtz ended Liverpool’s game against Newcastle with fewer touches than Alisson

One of Liverpool’s most exciting additions this summer was Florian Wirtz.

The attacking midfielder cost Liverpool around £100million upfront with an extra £16million in add-ons, should they be met.

So, for this price tag, you’d expect him to be one of Liverpool’s star players, but instead, others such as Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai have outshone him.

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And, as per Sofascore, during the 3-2 win against Newcastle, although he may have had a 96 per cent pass accuracy, he ended the game with fewer touches than Alisson, as he only managed 41, while the ‘keeper managed 47.

Indeed, Wirtz was substituted in the 80th minute, but since there were only supposed to be 10 minutes left of the clash, he still should’ve done better.

He also only won 50 per cent of his ground duels and made no key passes, despite having the likes of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike ahead of him on the pitch.

Florian Wirtz needs to step things up and prove his worth

As mentioned, fans were extremely excited to see how Wirtz would do in the Premier League.

And, while in pre-season he showed glimmers of the talent he possesses, in his first top-flight games for Liverpool, he’s been a ghost.

The German was brought in to help bring more of a creative flair to Slot’s first-team squad, but instead, the Dutchman has had to rely on players such as Salah and Gravenberch to pick up the slack once again.

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If Wirtz can’t manage to get out of the rut he finds himself in at the moment, it’ll feel like a massive waste of money on Liverpool’s part.

Of course, it’s going to take some time for him to get adjusted to English football, but if he continues performing like he has in his first two Premier League games, it’ll be hard to think anything positive about his addition.

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