Jamie Carragher fires back at Florian Wirtz after Man City’s embarrassing moment
Jamie Carragher was pretty tough on Florian Wirtz after his quiet performance in Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Even though Liverpool had a tough time after being found guilty of most charges by the Premier League, City still showed their strength on Sunday (October 11). Goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki helped City keep their perfect record with six wins in six games for the 2026/27 season.
Liverpool had some chances in the first half, but things changed when Ryan Gravenberch got a second yellow card and was sent off for fouling Doku. This made the game a lot harder for Liverpool.
Gravenberch will miss Liverpool’s next match at Brentford on October 17, but Jamie Carragher thinks he should be in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Wirtz, who again struggled to make a difference, might need to come off the team.
On the Gary Neville Podcast, Carragher asked if Wirtz has ever really taken over a game like players such as Cole Palmer, Martin Ødegaard, or Bruno Fernandes do. He also pointed out that Wirtz “never looks like scoring a goal.”
Carragher said, “Some Liverpool fans criticized me for being negative, but I believe Wirtz had promise when he played well for Germany under Klopp. But today, without our top attackers Isak and Gakpo, we needed more from him and Barcola to support Muñoz and Koumas up front. Instead, Koumas and Muñoz were better than our £100m players. That’s not right.”
He praised Gravenberch, saying, “He’s tall, fast, and skilled. He was one of the best players when Liverpool won the league.”
Carragher added, “Honestly, Wirtz’s signing hasn’t worked out so far. Gravenberch shouldn’t be on the bench while Wirtz plays. I can’t remember a game where Wirtz has been the difference-maker. He was brought in to be a star like Kevin De Bruyne.”
He even mentioned several Liverpool players from the Premier League era who made a bigger impact in the No. 10 role than Wirtz, including Yossi Benayoun, Jari Litmanen, and Vladimír Šmicer.
“Wirtz has played about 55 or 60 games now, which is enough. I don’t see things changing, so maybe it’s time for a change,” Carragher said.
Wirtz joined Liverpool in 2025 for up to £116m and has scored seven goals and made 11 assists in 56 games since then.
Liverpool’s next match is against LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday (October 14).