Wirtz Breaks a Five-Year Chance-Creation Record But Deepens Liverpool's Tactical Puzzle

Florian Wirtz created more chances from open play in a single Premier League match than any player has managed in over five years during Liverpool's 2-1 comeback win at nine-man Brentford, a statistical outlier that should have silenced his doubters. Instead, it has sharpened a tactical argument that threatens to define Andoni Iraola's early tenure at Anfield.

The win moved Liverpool up to fifth and ended a troubling run without an away victory after conceding first, but the headline numbers from Wirtz's performance sit awkwardly alongside pointed criticism from BBC pundit Danny Murphy and lingering comments from club legend Steven Gerrard about the German's place in the side, as BBC Sport's analysis of the match makes clear.

A record-breaking night: the numbers behind Wirtz's display

Wirtz created nine chances from open play against Brentford, the most by any Premier League player in a single game in over six seasons. The only player to match that tally in that span is Sadio Mane, who also created nine for Liverpool against Burnley in January 2021, according to BBC Sport.

A record untouched since 2011 away from home

The away-game context makes the number even more striking. Wirtz is the first player to reach that tally on the road in more than 15 years, since Samir Nasri registered 10 for Manchester City at Tottenham in August 2011, the BBC reports.

• Completed 53 of 65 passes attempted (81.5%)
• A match-leading 38 passes inside the final third
• 12 final-third entries, also a match high
• 18 chances created in the Premier League this season, level with Brighton's Pascal Gross for the league lead

Wirtz set up Liverpool's equaliser to spark the fightback, meaning he has now assisted in back-to-back games across all competitions for the first time since his £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen in June 2025, a transfer that remains a club record. Yet this was only his second goal involvement in seven Premier League appearances this term, underlining how sporadic his influence has been before Saturday.

Murphy's warning: 'too easy to play against'

For all the individual brilliance, BBC Sport pundit and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was unconvinced by the collective shape around Wirtz, arguing that playing him as a central number 10 leaves Liverpool structurally exposed.

"They got the job done. First and foremost, that's another win on the road, which is always positive. But I thought they looked too easy to play against. The spaces are too big. They're playing with two wingers and Wirtz at 10, so they're relying heavily on the two midfield players to try and cover so much space. It was too easy for Brentford to play out and to get in behind. That would be the biggest concern today for me," Murphy said.

The trade-off: creativity against defensive solidity

Murphy's concern is not that Wirtz is underperforming, it is that his presence forces a structural compromise elsewhere. He suggested Iraola abandon the number 10 role entirely in favour of a third central midfielder.

"They Instead of a number 10, where Wirtz is struggling to impact games, put three midfielders in. Always, the priority is foundation, defence, stability, being hard to beat. The other stuff can follow from there. At the moment, it just looks a little bit open. Against better teams, you're going to get hurt," he added, per BBC Sport.

The numbers lend weight to that argument. Brentford, reduced to nine men before half-time, still managed 21 shots in total, 14 of them in the second half when their man advantage should theoretically have made them more passive, not more threatening.

Gerrard's confidence theory and the Wirtz selection debate

The debate around Wirtz did not start on Saturday. Earlier this week, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard suggested the 23-year-old could benefit from being left out of the team altogether, framing his struggles as a confidence issue rather than a talent one, as reported by BBC Sport.

Form, fee and expectation colliding

That theory sits uneasily next to Saturday's output. A player supposedly lacking confidence does not usually produce the most prolific chance-creation display of his Premier League career. But Wirtz's underlying weaknesses were also visible: only Milos Kerkez lost possession more often among Liverpool players than Wirtz's 19, and he won just one of his nine duels.

The tension is clear. Liverpool committed a club-record £116m to a player whose creative numbers now lead the entire league, yet whose defensive contribution and physical duels remain a liability in a system Murphy believes is already too open. Whether Iraola persists with Wirtz as a free-roaming 10 or shifts towards a more conservative midfield three, as Murphy advocates, could come to define his early months in charge.

Iraola's wider headache: VAR frustration and injury blows

The Wirtz debate was not the only flashpoint from Gtech Community Stadium. According to ESPN's reporting, Iraola questioned the decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Liverpool in the first half, adding an officiating grievance to a weekend that was supposed to be a straightforward bounce-back win.

Two injuries compound a congested schedule

More pressing for Iraola were fresh fitness concerns. Both Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong were forced off with injuries during the match, per ESPN, just as Alexander Isak returned to the squad from his own spell on the sidelines. Iraola had already flagged a "delicate" situation over Liverpool's demanding fixture schedule before kick-off, and losing two more first-team players only tightens that squeeze.

Reading the BBC's tactical focus alongside ESPN's injury and VAR reporting paints a fuller picture than either outlet alone: this was not simply a good away win papering over one issue, but a result complicated by a disputed penalty call, two fresh injuries, and a system that a respected pundit says is leaving Liverpool exposed even with ten men against them. Iraola's post-match focus on "counters where we were three against one" suggests he is just as aware of the defensive gaps Murphy identified, even if his public framing was more measured.

What this means for Liverpool's shape going forward

Saturday's result ended Liverpool's run of 19 winless away games when going 1-0 behind and marked their first away league win after conceding first since December 2023, concrete proof that Iraola's side can grind out results even when the underlying picture is messy. Three wins from seven league games is a modest return, but it arrests the damage from last weekend's defeat by Manchester City.

A decision Iraola cannot keep deferring

The structural question Murphy raised will not disappear because of one eye-catching box score. If Brentford's ten men could generate 21 shots and repeatedly get in behind, the gaps Murphy describes will almost certainly be punished by sides with more quality in the final third. Iraola now faces a genuine selection dilemma: keep faith with Wirtz as a free number 10 and accept the defensive trade-off, or restructure around a third midfielder and risk blunting the very creativity that just produced a record-breaking night.

With Szoboszlai and Frimpong both facing fitness assessments and a congested fixture list ahead, Iraola has little time to experiment. How he resolves the Wirtz conundrum, rather than Saturday's scoreline, will likely shape the narrative around his first months at Liverpool.