Jamie Carragher delivers ultimate put-down to Florian Wirtz after Man City embarrassment
Jamie Carragher delivered a brutal put-down to Florian Wirtz after his lacklustre showing in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss against Manchester City.
Despite the obvious grey cloud hanging over Enzo Maresca’s side after the club was found guilty of the majority of the charges brought against them by the Premier League, City outclassed Liverpool on Sunday (October 11), with strikes from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki helping the side make it six wins from six at the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
Although Liverpool had a flurry of first-half chances, Ryan Gravenberch’s red card after receiving a second yellow for a foul on Doku ultimately changed the trajectory of the game.
Jamie Carragher names Ryan Gravenberch as guaranteed starter
The Dutchman will miss Liverpool’s trip to Brentford on October 17, but Carragher thinks the midfielder must play in Iraola’s side, while suggesting it may be time to take Wirtz, who once again struggled to make an impact on the game, out of the starting XI.
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Speaking alongside Gary Neville on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former Liverpool defender proceeded to question whether Wirtz has ever dominated a game in the way the likes of Cole Palmer, Martin Ødegaard and Bruno Fernandes do, while admitting that he “never looks like scoring a goal”.
Carragher said: “I was 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 Jürgen Klopp could get his arm around him when he was with Germany.
“He [Florian Wirtz] played really well for Germany under Jürgen Klopp. But he has come here today, I’m looking at the game with no [Alexander] Isak and no [Cody] Gakpo, our two best attackers this season.
“We need [Bradley] Barcola and we need Wirtz to step up and help Muñoz and Koumas at the top of the pitch. [Lewis] Koumas and [Victor] Muñoz were better than the two £100m players.
“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 [Ryan] Gravenberch. He started badly and was taken out of the team.”
Praising Gravenberch, he explained: “He’s six foot three, he can run, he can play… he was one of the outstanding players when Liverpool won the Premier League.”
Carragher contnued: “I’m sorry to say this, but Florian Wirtz’s signing is not working, and it hasn’t worked so far. And Ryan Gravenberch should not be sitting on the bench while Florian Wirtz is playing for Liverpool.”
Jamie Carragher calls for Florian Wirtz to be dropped
He added: “I struggle to think of one game where he’s won Liverpool the game or been ‘the man’. He was brought in to be a star of the Premier League, to be the Kevin De Bruyne that City had.”
Carragher then went on to name 10 or 12 players who have played for Liverpool in the Premier League era and made more of an impact in the No. 10 role than Wirtz, including Yossi Benayoun, Jari Litmanen and Vladimír Šmicer.
“He’s been here for about 55, 60 games; it’s a lot. And I don’t see that changing… I think Liverpool have given him enough chances, and he needs to come out of the team.”
Wirtz signed for a fee of up to £116m in 2025 and has since registered just seven goals and 11 assists in 56 appearances.
Liverpool return to action with a trip to face LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday (October 14).
READ MORE: Liverpool fans mock Man City fans with brutal chant not heard on Sky Sports
Topics: Florian Wirtz, Liverpool, Jamie Carragher
Luke Davies