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Arne Slot has hailed Florian Wirtz for his confidence following his return to Liverpool’s side, with the German having played a big role over the last couple of games.
It has been a frustrating start to life at Anfield for Wirtz following his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen, and his cause wasn’t helped by an injury picked up during the international break that saw him sit out defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven.
The 22-year-old though has impressed on his last two outings though, having been lauded for his display in the 2-0 win over West Ham, while providing the pivotal moment to earn his side a point against Sunderland - even if he was cruelly denied his first goal for Liverpool.
While his teammates continue to struggle though, Wirtz looks as though he may be slowly finding his feet in the Premier League, with Slot insisting that even having his goal against Sunderland taken off him shouldn’t dent the confidence he has shown recently.
“If you only have confidence from goals, that is the wrong thing,” Slot said in his press conference ahead of facing Leeds this weekend. “You can see his confidence from how often he wants the ball and how often they give him it.
“So he has a lot of confidence but it's also clear he came back with an injury from Germany, so I am happy he can play so many minutes. He has done well.
“I am not surprised he was involved in the goal against Sunderland, he was one of the ones who kept constantly trying and was creative."
Wirtz will be aiming to make his third successive start when Liverpool travel to Leeds on Saturday, with the pressure still on the Reds after a disappointing display in the draw with Sunderland.
"We have unbelievable quality in the changing room — personalities and great players," Wirtz said after Wednesday’s game. "We just have still to find each other a bit more and to create a bit better momentum for us.
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"Then I think everything will go in our direction soon. But we just have to work hard and stay together as a team and as a club, and hopefully we will be more successful.
"I'm just happy that things go a little bit more in my direction. I try always to work hard on the pitch, against the ball as well, but sometimes you need also a little bit of luck that you get the goal or assist.
"But in the end, it just matters that we win. Today we couldn’t but the next one, try again."
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