Wirtz takes personal responsibility as Liverpool drop six points in four Premier League games

Florian Wirtz has publicly acknowledged that Liverpool’s attack is falling short of expectations, saying he and his fellow forwards need to “finish games off” after the club dropped six points from their opening four Premier League fixtures.

Three draws — against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, and Fulham — have left Liverpool trailing early pace-setters Arsenal and Manchester City. Forest twice led at Anfield, while Fulham, sitting in the bottom three at the time, left Merseyside with a point last weekend.

“I think we had a few games where we could have scored more goals to win the game,” Wirtz told the club’s official website. “I have also the expectations for myself to decide games. We need me and the attackers to finish the games off, so we definitely try to work on that.”

Wirtz, deployed centrally as the team’s No.10, and record signing Alexander Isak have both drawn criticism for their output so far. Summer arrival Bradley Barcola is still searching for his first goal, having missed several clear chances in a recent game against Atletico Madrid.

Despite the slow start, Wirtz struck a measured tone on Liverpool’s overall position. “It’s good that we are still unbeaten,” he said. “For sure we want to have more points at this stage. But I think it’s still a good base to build on — let’s try to keep going like that and get even more points.”

Manager Andoni Iraola remains unbeaten in the Premier League but faces the challenge of integrating a squad that includes three players who cost in excess of £100 million. Ironically, it is Cody Gakpo who has been Liverpool’s standout performer so far, while youngster Rio Ngumoha and summer signing Victor Munoz are also pushing for minutes.

Iraola has pushed back against the intensity of scrutiny directed at Wirtz specifically. “He should be judged like everybody else, whether he plays well or doesn’t play well,” the Spaniard said. “I am very happy with Florian, I rate him very highly. He understands what we need from him and is trying to help in every aspect of the game.”

With Arsenal and Manchester City already setting a brisk pace, Liverpool will be aware that further dropped points could make an early-season deficit difficult to close.