Florian Wirtz: The stats that show Liverpool man's Brentford breakthrough may be false dawn

Florian Wirtz recorded an impressive nine chances created as Liverpool narrowly beat Brentford 2-1 on Saturday.

The German, who cost up to £116million to sign from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, provided an assist for Victor Munoz's equaliser to register the most chances created in a Premier League game since Sadio Mane's nine against in 2021, also for Liverpool.

The Bees would ultimately end the game with just nine men, after both Yehor Yarmoliuk and Vitaly Janelt were sent off in either half, with Alexander Isak scoring the winner.

Andoni Iraola will hope that Saturday's display could well be the catalyst that Wirtz has been looking for to rediscover the match-winning capability that convinced Liverpool to part ways with such a massive figure.

The German has seriously struggled to adapt to the Premier League and has been even been tipped to return to the Bundesliga in the coming transfer windows.

The 23-year-old scored an unwhelming seven goals and provided eight assists in 49 games across all competitions last season.

Florian Wirtz struggles not over yet

There were strong positives about Wirtz's performance. The midfielder was at the heart of Liverpool's chance creation, providing nine himself.

The German covered a hugely impressive 13.4km - more than anybody else on the pitch. He also made 12 passes into the final third and broke the lines 11 times.

But there are other stats that suggest the midfielder may still have some way to go before he can begin to reach the levels he once did.

Wirtz completed just one of the dribbles he attempted, and failed to complete any of the crosses or long balls he tried.

More concerning is his seeming weakness in the duel. The Liverpool man won just one of the nine he contested on the day, being dribbled past twice and giving away three fouls.

Ultimately, Saturday was encouraging for Wirtz - but there is evidently still a long way to go.

Wirtz matches Sadio Mane

When Wirtz looked at his phone after the game, he would have had something to smile about.

A piece of poetic history - he is the first player to create nine or more chances from open play in a Premier League match since Sadio Mane in January 2021.

If he can do much more to emulate the Liverpool legend, then he will be doing very well indeed.

Wirtz has much to do to prove to everybody else that it is a possibility, but he must believe himself that it is the only outcome.