'No goal threat whatsoever!' - Jamie Carragher calls for £116m Florian Wirtz to be AXED after Liverpool’s thumping by Manchester City

Andoni Iraola's side endured a miserable afternoon at Anfield as they were dismantled by Enzo Maresca's ruthless Manchester City. The visitors secured a comprehensive 3-0 victory, capitalising fully after Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was shown a red card shortly after the hour mark.

Goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki condemned the hosts to a heavy home defeat. However, it was the lifeless performance of Germany international Wirtz that drew the most attention, leading to intense scrutiny from former Reds defender Carragher.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher expressed his frustration over Wirtz’s continued struggles. He noted that while the playmaker thrives internationally under Jurgen Klopp, his club form remains a major concern, especially when established forwards Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are unavailable.

"I’m going to go back to Florian Wirtz, because I was critical of him after the last game Liverpool played at Bournemouth," Carragher stated. "I was then criticised a little bit by Liverpool supporters for putting a negative slant on it. But what I did say was it could be the last hope if Jurgen Klopp could get his arm around him when he was with Germany.

"He played really well for Germany under Jurgen Klopp. But he has come here today, I’m looking at the game with no Isak and no Gakpo, our two best attackers this season. We need Bradley Barcola and we need Wirtz to step up and help Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas at the top of the pitch. Koumas and Munoz were better than the two £100m players."

Carragher further stressed that Wirtz should not be starting in place of Gravenberch. He added: "That can’t be right. It’s not right. It wasn’t a decision for anyone in the stadium when Liverpool went down to 10 men. And the big bright spark was Gravenberch. He started badly and was taken out of the team. There is no way Wirtz should be playing ahead of Gravenberch."

The crux of Carragher's argument stems from Wirtz’s extensive time on Merseyside without delivering a return on his massive £116.5m price tag. While newer arrivals like Barcola can be afforded a period of adaptation, Wirtz is now an established figure in the squad who has repeatedly failed to step up.

"What Florian Wirtz is doing for Liverpool is not enough right now," Carragher explained. "He’s played 55, 60 games for Liverpool. If we were looking at Barcola, he has played four or five. You would want more but hold your horses. If you were critical of him, it would be over the top, but not the guy that has played 60 games."

The former centre-back ultimately concluded that the German offers zero attacking pedigree in his current state, saying: “He shouldn’t be in the Liverpool team right now. I don’t want to hammer Liverpool players. But we’re not saying this after five-ten games, we’re saying this after 50-60 games.

“Wirtz never looks like scoring a goal. You don’t come away thinking he missed chances or he worked the goalkeeper. There was absolutely nothing today where you thought he put someone through, or nearly scored. There’s absolutely no goal threat whatsoever.”

Iraola must now find a way to reinvigorate a depleted Liverpool attack while navigating the fallout of a crushing home defeat. With key figures like Isak and Gakpo sidelined, and Gravenberch facing suspension following his red card, the manager’s options in midfield and the final third are severely restricted.

The pressure is firmly on the technical staff to either unlock Wirtz's undeniable potential or heed Carragher's advice and drop the underperforming star. Liverpool will need to find immediate solutions to prevent this heavy loss from derailing their domestic campaign.