Liverpool’s 2026/27 season got underway with a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United on Sunday, August 23. Liverpool had to rely on a last-minute penalty by Dominik Szoboszlai to earn their first point of the season.
Florian Wirtz’s performance remained a concern in the first match of Liverpool’s 2026/27 season. Wirtz, who was signed for £116 million last summer, started as the No. 10 in Liverpool’s 4-2-3-1, but was substituted in the second half.
Liverpool’s 2026/27 Season: Why Wirtz as No.10 Hampers the Balance of the Team
Wirtz starting as the No.10 means that Liverpool have to start with Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch in the double pivot. Without Alexis Mac Allister in the Liverpool starting XI means that they do not have adequate cover while facing the opposition’s counter-attacks.
The vulnerability against counter-attacks was exposed against Newcastle United in an obvious manner. An option for Liverpool is to play Wirtz on the left flank, as he has played for Germany in that position, and Szoboszlai as the No.10. However, that means that Cody Gakpo, who scored the first goal against Newcastle, will have to be benched.
Wirtz, who scored 57 goals in 197 matches for Bayer Leverkusen, scored seven goals and registered seven assists in 49 matches last season for Liverpool.
If one compares Wirtz’s performance with the other No.10s in the Premier League like Bruno Fernandes and Rayan Cherki, the German falls short. Liverpool’s 2026/27 season will depend a lot on the 23-year-old German’s ability to perform well as the playmaker.
A problem with Wirtz is that he does not play enough aerial balls into the opposition penalty box like Fernandes, who registered a record number of assists last season, does for Manchester United or Kevin de Bruyne, who is second in the all-time list for assists in the Premier League, used to do for Manchester City.
Wirtz almost always relies on ground passes, which would have been great for a possession-oriented team like Manchester City, but is not good enough for a more direct team like Liverpool.
With the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, the Reds are lacking a player who can play quality crosses into the box. If Wirtz can start doing that, Liverpool’s 2026/27 season could benefit a great deal from it.
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Should Wirtz be Played as a False Nine?
Alexander Isak, the other big-money signing Liverpool did last season, has failed to fire so far. He scored only four goals in 22 matches for the Reds last season.
An option for Andoni Iraola might be to play Wirtz as the false nine in the Liverpool starting XI and drop Isak to the bench. That will allow him to retain the defensive balance in the team and give the German a chance to score more goals by spending more time in the final third.
However, that would restrict his movement. Wirtz played in a front two in a few matches for Liverpool last season when the Reds shifted to a 3-5-2 temporarily under Arne Slot. However, that did not work, and the Reds had to switch back to a 4-2-3-1.
Liverpool’s 2026/27 season has not started with a win, but they managed to earn a point nevertheless. Iraola should avoid any knee-jerk reactions at this stage, but cannot afford to ignore the issues plaguing his team altogether. His decision regarding Wirtz should go a long way towards determining the course of Liverpool’s 2026/27 season.
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