Jason Cundy says honest discussion needed about Florian Wirtz after what happened in Liverpool defeat vs Crystal Palace
Liverpool slipped to their first defeat of the season after a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Reds were slow out of the traps and found themselves a goal down after just nine minutes courtesy of Ismaila Sarr, his third goal in as many games in this fixture.
Arne Slot had Liverpool goalkeeper Allison to thank as his side picked it up in the second half and levelled late through substitute Federico Chiesa.
Liverpool were involved in VAR controversy against Palace late on, though, as Oliver Glasner’s side snatched all three points through Eddie Nketiah.
Jason Cundy asks Florian Wirtz question as Liverpool lose at Palace
Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for £116million but has struggled to make an impact in his early Anfield career.
Wirtz was taken off in the 74th minute for Chiesa, who grabbed his second goal of the season off the bench to stake his claim for more minutes.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Jason Cundy told co-host Jamie O’Hara that questions will need to be asked if Wirtz’s game doesn’t improve.
“Yes it’s early days,” said Cundy.
“It’s not quite happened for Wirtz. Liverpool have been getting away with it a little bit; tonight, they had their collar felt.
“If they don’t pick up a few more convincing victories… that noise about Wirtz will get louder.”
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Decision time for Arne Slot?
Slot has trusted his new signing Wirtz to start five of their six games so far in the Premier League, and is yet to pick up a convincing win.
The Reds have picked up plenty of late points, with Rio Ngumoha and Chiesa scoring late in wins over Newcastle United and Bournemouth.
Slot will certainly want to see more from Wirtz considering the outlay, even if a grace period needs to be allowed for him to find his feet after moving to the Premier League.
Wirtz started on the left at Selhurst Park but often found himself in the middle, leaving space wide open for Crystal Palace to exploit.
The Eagles were dominant in the first half, and found a lot of success down their right-hand side with Daniel Munoz and Sarr exploiting the space left by Wirtz.
It’s still early doors in his Liverpool career, of course, but Wirtz will need to show a marked improvement soon.
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