'It's not his fault' - Julian Nagelsmann defends talisman Florian Wirtz's Premier League struggles & places blame on Liverpool team-mates

Liverpool fans expected Wirtz to make a flying start to life at Anfield following his £116m move to Merseyside over the summer. The 22-year-old had been a driving force for former side Bayer Leverkusen, playing a starring role in their first ever Bundesliga title triumph in 2024.

The young Germany international, who impressed on Friday night in Die Mannschaft's 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Luxembourg, has struggled to transfer his fine Bundesliga form to the Premier League. Indeed, Wirtz is yet to score or assist in his opening seven league appearances for Arne Slot's side despite providing an assist on his Reds debut as the defending champions fell to a penalty shootout defeat to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield in August.

And after the Group A victory over the European minnows on home turf, Nagelsmann praised Wirtz and defended his lack of end product in the opening weeks of the season.

"Even if he hasn't scored a goal, he's the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League," Nagelsmann told Sport 1 when asked about Wirtz after Friday's victory over Luxembourg.

"It's not his fault if his team-mate doesn't create them, and the statistic isn't even a third of the truth. He simply has to get used to the league.

"I've seen him feel completely liberated. He knows what he's capable of and how things work. Not everything has always been handed to him - he'll work hard now, too."

Wirtz has actually created 11 goalscoring chances in the Premier League this season, which ranks joint-15th in England's top tier, level with Crystal Palace midfield Adam Wharton and Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier.

Former Liverpool centre-back and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has previously called for Wirtz to be dropped by head coach Slot, with the former Bayer man starting two of Liverpool's last three league games on the bench.

"Right now, I don't think the balance of the team is right and the obvious one that stands out is Florian Wirtz. He's just not at the races at all," Carragher recently told CBS Sports.

"He's a young boy coming into a new league - he has got plenty of time to go as a Liverpool player but right now I think he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool go back to what they were last season and then go from there and build some confidence, build some defensive solidity.

"Because right now it is a mess. It's not the losses, it is not the defeats. This has been coming from day one."

Wirtz is looking to build up some form during the international break with Germany. Nagelsmann has overseen back-to-back World Cup 2026 qualification wins having opened up their campaign last month with a surprise 2-0 loss in Slovakia.

Germany quickly bounced back with a 3-1 home triumph of Northern Ireland and eased to a 4-0 victory at Luxembourg's expense on Friday night. The European heavyweights seek a third successive victory when they travel to Windsor Park in Belfast on Monday night.

Wirtz netted in the reverse fixture against the Green and White Army and will hope to bag his second qualifying goal next week ahead of the return to domestic duties next weekend. Liverpool get their Premier League campaign back underway with the welcome of rivals Manchester United as they seek to end their current losing streak.

Liverpool have lost their last three competitive fixtures with a 1-0 Champions League loss to Galatasaray sandwiched between late Premier League defeats at Crystal Palace and Chelsea.