Nevin says Liverpool’s new duo are becoming “a joy to watch again”
Liverpool’s attack is starting to look like it has a clear direction again, and Pat Nevin has pinpointed Florian Wirtz’s growing influence as a big reason why.
The former footballer, now a BBC Sport pundit, believes the Germany playmaker is turning Liverpool from a side that looked uncertain into one that is beginning to feel familiar.
Nevin wrote: “There has been a temptation to turn up at Anfield recently and think ‘who are you and what have you done with Liverpool?’”
That line sums up the strange stretch we have had, where performances have not always matched expectations, even when results have picked up.
Nevin suggested that it might not have been a collapse at all, but a side adjusting after major change.
He wrote: “But maybe they were simply a team in transition.”
The key point for Liverpool supporters is what comes next, because Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike are beginning to look like a partnership that can carry us through that transition.
Wirtz is becoming Liverpool’s main man
Nevin’s praise was direct and centred on Wirtz’s capacity to lead games rather than simply contribute in flashes.
He wrote: “Wirtz is showing that he is perfectly capable of being the main man and maybe even reaching the stellar levels of a player like Kevin de Bruyne.”
That is strong company to place a summer signing in, but it reflects how quickly Wirtz has started to dictate matches in the final third.
Florian Wirtz has 32 appearances for Liverpool this season, with six goals and six assists.
The recent form line is even more striking, because the German playmaker has five goals and two assists in nine games in 2026.
There is a sense that the early adaptation period has passed, and that the tempo of the Premier League is no longer rushing Wirtz into safe decisions.
Nevin backed that up with another vivid description, writing: “He is now regularly showing the imagination, that other-worldly vision in tight situations and the sublime creativity that leaves even top defenders looking elephantine.”
That confidence has also been noted elsewhere, with Jamie Carragher pointing out how far Wirtz has come since early-season criticism.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “When I’m talking about a slow start, one of the games that really stands out was Manchester City away. Gary Neville said on commentary – and rightly so – that he looked like a little boy out there.”
The former Liverpool defender believes the difference now is Wirtz’s relationship with the man playing ahead of him.
Carragher added: “He’s now got Manchester City at Anfield. He’s now really confident. He’s got this partnership and combination with [Hugo] Ekitike.”
Wirtz and Ekitike are building the understanding Slot needs
The partnership between Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike has become the focal point of Liverpool’s forward play.
Against Newcastle at Anfield, Wirtz supplied the pass for the first equaliser before Ekitike added a second goal of individual brilliance, showing how varied their connection already is.
Wirtz and Ekitike have now combined for six goals in all competitions this season, and their movement looks increasingly instinctive rather than rehearsed.
Joe Cole believes that understanding is only going to deepen.
The former England winger said: “Ekitike has hit the ground running, he’s been at it from the start. Ekitike and Wirtz look like they enjoy playing together.”
Cole also suggested Liverpool supporters are only seeing the beginning of what the pair can produce.
He added: “The frightening thing is they’re going to get better and better. This is six months into the partnership.”
That view matches Pat Nevin’s belief that Liverpool’s patience is finally being rewarded.
He wrote: “Hugo Ekitike has been a revelation, Florian Wirtz the same as their understanding grows.”
For Liverpool, that matters because it reframes what this season represents.
Rather than being defined by uncertainty, it is starting to look like the first stage of a new attacking identity built around Wirtz’s creativity and Ekitike’s movement.
If that trajectory continues, the questions around transition will quickly be replaced by expectations of progress.
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