Florian Wirtz got an almighty monkey off his back on Wednesday after grabbing his first assist in ten games for Liverpool.
Having created a second goal only minutes later, the German has finally quietened some of the noise surrounding his performances.
Wirtz has been openly questioned from all corners since Liverpool‘s season began. The £116m signing has failed to fully hit the ground running in the manner expected of such a big signing.
Nevertheless, Wirtz has kept plugging away and was finally rewarded when his pinpoint ball across the box was fired into the Eintracht Frankfurt net by Cody Gakpo.
It was a moment of pure relief for Wirtz, and despite Gakpo being the goal scorer it was the 22-year-old who the Liverpool squad went to celebrate with after the ball hit the net.
Liverpool squad celebrate Florian Wirtz’s first assist
Wirtz’s primary job in this Liverpool team is to create chances for those around him.
The Germany international was signed as a way for the Reds to mitigate Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure and to help fill the creativity void that was created as a result.
So far, Wirtz has not lived up to that billing. Although his performances have generally been fine, the former Bayer Leverkusen star has not been seeing tangible results where it matters.
READ MORE: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Eintracht Frankfurt as Florian Wirtz shines in new role
That all changed on Wednesday with a ball across the Eintracht six-yard box on Wednesday, and it clearly meant a lot to Wirtz’s teammates.
As seen on a video posted by X account Liverpool FC & Germany – who credit DAZN for the clip – a camera behind the goal captured the players’ reaction to Wirtz’s assist.
Andy Robertson is first to the No. 7, approaching him with a beaming smile and a big cuddle. Federico Chiesa is not far behind, grinning from ear to ear – as usual – before the three melt into a group hug.
Conor Bradley and Dominik Szoboszlai then approach Wirtz one by one, clearly hugely pleased for their teammate.
Goalscorer Gakpo then circles back around to lift Wirtz off his feet, before the German gets an arm around the shoulder from both Curtis Jones and Ibrahima Konate.
Liverpool players love Florian Wirtz
Plenty of players would have let their heads go down had they been in Wirtz’s shoes this autumn.
It cannot have been easy to deal with the spotlight his huge price-tag has brought, and many would not have been able to handle the added scrutiny.
However, Wirtz has simply kept on going. Although it has not always looked easy, he has never shied away from having the ball at his feet and is always probing and looking for a way in.
While they have had to get used to each other this season, his Liverpool teammates appear to have been as desperate as anyone for Wirtz to get off the mark in the assist stakes.
Like the old London buses adage, one soon became two for Liverpool’s little gem. Hopefully numbers three and four are not too far away.
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