Slot on Wirtz getting his first goal and wanting more from him

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Wirtz getting his first goal and wanting more from him  27/12/2025  Anfield, Liverpool, UK

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00:00You talked a bit on television about Florian Verthes getting his first goal.

00:06How much of a relief do you think it was for him and for everyone else as well?

00:11I think I'm quite sure that it was a relief for him.

00:16This I could see after his reaction, after he scored the goal.

00:20And the same I saw with his teammates.

00:23I think they were really happy for him, scoring that first goal,

00:26because in football, rightly so, maybe we mainly get judged on results

00:31and individuals mainly get judged on goals and assists.

00:35We sometimes tend to forget what else is there to do during a game.

00:40I think he's had multiple good games for us,

00:44but I also feel that he gets better and better every single game he's playing for us.

00:49He gets fitter and fitter and was getting closer and closer to his first goal

00:54and it's not a surprise to me that he scored one today.

00:57But he would probably be the first one to understand that one goal is not enough.

01:02So hopefully he will score much more goals for us than only this one.

01:11But I also liked his performance during large parts of the game today.

01:17I think he was special in a lot of moments.

01:24With the second half, do you think that, again, a set-piece,

01:31is it going to be down to hard work to eradicate this conceding from these set-pieces?

01:39No, I think scoring goals in the Premier League is not easy.

01:44I mean that in open play.

01:46And I see this almost every single game I watch

01:50because the amount of set-piece goals scored gets more and more and more.

01:55Unfortunately, we're maybe the only team that hardly ever scores from a set-piece.

02:00And even worse, we constantly concede.

02:02But then, I think I said two, three, four weeks ago,

02:07that we have to make sure if things go against us,

02:10it could be set-piece, it could be other things.

02:12We still need to find a way to win that game.

02:15And in the last two games, we conceded a set-piece, but we were able to win.

02:19And that hasn't happened that many times this season.

02:21So that's, again, progress for me.

02:24But it's obvious that there are more things for us to improve,

02:33but this is definitely one of them.

02:35Although we had a great set-piece, the first one after half-time.

02:39It was completely told to the players at half-time, not by me,

02:42but by someone else.

02:44And it was an open chance for Florian,

02:47but unfortunately, again, it went the wrong side of the post.

02:51So, I think we've been unlucky in multiple situations in a set-piece.

02:56But, yeah, it's 18 games now.

02:59So, we need to improve.

03:02What did you make of the performance over?

03:05Wolves obviously got into the two-goal lead and then Wolves got one back

03:09and it seemed like they were growing confidence a bit.

03:12Were you happy with the performance in the second half?

03:15Of us as a team?

03:16As a whole, yeah.

03:17Yeah, yeah.

03:18No, of course not.

03:19I think if you go 2-0 up at half-time, you're expecting a different second half

03:24than we had to face.

03:25But in football, a goal can massively change momentum.

03:30And that's why I was so, so, so annoyed when the goal at City was disallowed,

03:34because we were struggling that game probably just as much as Wolves was struggling today.

03:39But then a goal can make a lot of difference.

03:41So, and that's what you saw today.

03:44Not that after the 2-1, we didn't have ball possession anymore.

03:48I think there was still, but it was much more an equal game.

03:52And then, of course, you're frightened every time when they do arrive,

03:56especially when he brought another big man in with the crosses they gave.

04:02But I don't think we conceded a lot of big chances.

04:06I think the first big chance we conceded was, again, a goal.

04:09Not for the first time this season.

04:11But for the rest, I saw a team that was fighting to get the win over the line.

04:17Not with the best possible football, but there was a proper fight.

04:21And a bit better than last week, wasn't it, the last ten minutes?

04:28That wasn't too difficult, by the way.

04:31Andrew?

04:33I don't know, Finn Conn has had an impact in the last two games.

04:38Probably a bit of a different player than maybe I think he's possibly

04:42gets to the byline and creates chances from there.

04:46I guess he's another of these players who I doubt has been disrupted

04:51the first few months, but he's another one that you see signs of

04:56becoming a lot influential.

04:59Yeah, no, I think a lot has been said by so many people, probably you guys

05:03and me included as well, about the amount of money we've spent last summer.

05:08No one talks about what we recouped because we sold so many.

05:12But then from the players we bought, we unfortunately couldn't have seen

05:17the best from Alex.

05:19Giovanni Leone has been injured after his first game

05:22and Jeremy Frimpoch has hardly been available as well.

05:25So it's nice that we've spent so much and nobody talking about what we've sold.

05:30But we were not always able to use the players we've brought in.

05:35And Jeremy is a great example now.

05:38If he's fit, he can definitely help us because last week he had the assist

05:42against Tottenham and today he had a great assist against Wolves today.

05:48Pace, that's what he has.

05:50And that's so important and crucial in modern day football.

05:53Because to create something against the low block,

05:56teams that defend with so many players,

05:59usually teams break this down with set pieces.

06:02No, that's not our biggest strength.

06:03And then to have him available with his pace,

06:06because the goal we scored is the first one,

06:09was pure individual ability.

06:11Quick bum-bum and the cut-back cross,

06:14OK, we were positioned in the right position.

06:16But that's the pace I always wanted to bring in in the summer,

06:20and that's what we did with Hugo,

06:22that's what we did with Jeremy and with Alex as well.

06:26But unfortunately, not all of the money we've spent,

06:30we have used that and that has to do with the injuries of these players.

06:35Can I just ask you a more general question about the atmosphere it's playing,

06:45how the world played out?

06:46I know you've spoken briefly about it to Sky,

06:49but it was a very funny and difficult afternoon at times,

06:53with the emotion around the Euro.

06:56Yeah, difficult but in a way also special and nice.

07:03I think, again, the football world showed how to behave in moments like this.

07:10So our fans have been incredible since the tragedy has happened till today.

07:16Every single moment they've did what you would hope they do in memory of him.

07:28But today, again, the away fans showed that it's not only about our fans,

07:35it's also about fans of other teams.

07:38So in the 18th minute they started singing for Diogo, the Wolves fans,

07:44and our fans were clapping in the 20th minute.

07:47It was the opposite way around.

07:49So you guys know, and I know this for one and a half year now,

07:54how special English fans are.

07:56And I think today we've showed to the outside world,

07:59to the whole world,

08:00that it's not only the players who make this league special,

08:05but it's definitely also the fans.

08:07Do you want some preview for Leeds?

08:09Do you want some preview for Leeds?

08:10Do you want some preview for Leeds?

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