Florian Wirtz has publicly disagreed with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk's assessment that the team gave up during their 4-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester City. The German midfielder, who joined Liverpool for a record £116 million last summer, said he 'wouldn't agree' with the Dutchman's brutal criticism of the performance.
Van Dijk had fronted up after the defeat at the Etihad, claiming: 'You shouldn't give up and that's maybe, at a certain point, what happened. We let our fans down, we let ourselves down, and the manager.' The centre-back's comments were echoed by manager Arne Slot, who admitted he 'missed the fighting spirit' in the second half.
Wirtz, however, took issue with that narrative. 'I didn't know about that he said this. But I think I wouldn't agree directly because we still tried to create chances to turn the game around,' he said. 'Of course when the game gets longer and it's like in the 80th minute and you're 3-0 back mentally it's difficult to go and go. We just tried to give our best.'
Despite the heavy defeat, Wirtz insisted that the squad remains united behind Slot, who won the Premier League title in his first season. 'Yes, of course. We are believing in the manager, the team should believe in the manager as they won the league last season,' the 22-year-old said. 'We still have things to play for and everything I can say to that is that we believe in the manager and try to get our best on the pitch.'
Liverpool now face an uphill battle to secure Champions League football, with pressure mounting on Slot after a summer spending spree that exceeded £400 million. Wirtz, who was one of two British record signings, acknowledged the team's standards must improve, adding: 'Next year we should do better and be better on the pitch.'
