€220m summer duo
Zero g/a in 1,153 mins – Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké’s Liverpool struggles against best teams
©TM/IMAGO
Liverpool will require their star players to shine to have any hope of a famous Anfield comeback against PSG in the Champions League tonight. Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké are unquestionably two of their biggest assets and they will be pivotal to the Merseyside club’s prospects of overcoming the two-goal deficit against the holders. Liverpool broke the record for highest spend in a single transfer window in the summer when they invested €483 million on new arrivals.
It’s imperative to highlight that spending was offset by recouping €220m in sales but their signings have come under significant scrutiny due to a lack of return on investment and Liverpool’s demise this season. Anfield chiefs splurged €125m on Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and €95m to secure Ekitiké’s signature and while both are supremely talented footballers, they’ve both received deserved criticism at points. Ekitiké has enjoyed the better campaign with 23 goal contributions in 44 games while Wirtz has struggled to replicate his Bundesliga excellence. The duo possess the potential to develop into world-class superstars but their records in the big games this season is alarming.
Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké’s struggles in big games
Using Transfermarkt’s famed market values, we’ve analysed the Liverpool duo’s attacking output against the six most valuable teams they’ve faced this season; Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, PSG and Real Madrid – Tottenham have a more valuable squad than Man Utd but the Old Trafford club’s matchday squad was more valuable. Incredibly, Wirtz and Ekitiké have failed to register a single goal contribution against those six clubs across a total of 1,153 combined minutes. That’s a frightening statistic from two of Liverpool’s leading attacking players, who cost a combined €220m and highlights how they’ve failed to make an impact in the biggest games.
As the graphic above illustrates, Wirtz has played 659 minutes against those six clubs without contributing a single goal or assist. The German international has played three times against Man City and twice against Arsenal, but it should be highlighted that he’s played limited minutes against Man United and Chelsea. Ekitiké has played fewer minutes (494) against those clubs but he’s also failed to make an impact. Interestingly, Mohamed Salah has also failed to register a goal contribution against Liverpool’s six most valuable opponents but the Egyptian is reaching the end of his career and his record in big games across his time at Anfield is incredible. If Liverpool are to pull off a famous comeback win then they’ll need two of their most expensive signings ever to step up.
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