Liverpool are preparing to bounce back from their first defeat of the season when they visit LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Reds were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City on Sunday, ending their seven-match unbeaten start to the campaign across all competitions.
Manager Andoni Iraola will want a response from his players following the loss to Enzo Maresca's side. Liverpool now sit ninth in the Premier League and will be desperate to secure a European victory to restore confidence.
Petit: Reds paid 'way over odds' for Barcola
World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit has claimed Liverpool paid double what Bradley Barcola is worth following his £123m move from PSG. The 23-year-old has not registered a goal or assist in 336 minutes of football for the Reds since arriving over the summer.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Petit said: "£120m, I never would [have] put that price tag on the table. We all know that in France." He added: "We know he is a quality player. We know he [can] be sometimes great... He was good, most of the time, with Paris because of the whole team behind him."
When pressed by host Jim White on whether Liverpool paid "way over the odds" for their marquee summer signing, Petit responded: "Oh, yeah, definitely. I [would] probably spend £60m, £70m maximum. That's my opinion. It's becoming common now that English clubs are spending so much money on overrated players."
Matthaus floats Chelsea move for Wirtz
German great Lothar Matthaus has backed the idea that Florian Wirtz could be a shrewd acquisition for Chelsea should he leave Anfield. The 1990 World Cup winner highlighted the midfielder's connection with former Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso, now in charge at Stamford Bridge, as a significant factor in any potential switch.
Wirtz, a £116m signing, has struggled to justify his price tag on Merseyside since arriving over a year ago. Matthaus said, per Bulinews: "I've recently been impressed by Florian Wirtz when he plays for the German national team. His team-mates look to find him on the ball there, just as they used to at Leverkusen. At Liverpool, however, the players tend to look for other options, such as [Dominik] Szoboszlai alongside him or Isak ahead of him."
He added: "According to my latest information from England, people have generally been satisfied with his performances recently. However, when you are an expensive, game-changing player and lose a big match 3–0, you can expect plenty of backlash from the media."
Matthaus said Bayern Munich, the only German club realistically capable of affording him, currently have no room to bring him in. He elaborated: "If Wirtz continues to face criticism at Liverpool and fails to show the joy and freedom in his game that we know he has, then at some point all parties will have to sit down together and perhaps find a solution. There are clubs in Spain that would be interested, as well as another club in England: Chelsea, where Wirtz's former coach Xabi Alonso is now in charge."
Chelsea are not short of options in attacking midfield, with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers regularly deployed in that position, but Matthaus does not consider those presences an obstacle for the under-pressure star.
