Florian Wirtz celebrated his personal redemption at Liverpool FC on an emotional afternoon. In the 2-1 (2-0) win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the German international scored his first goal in his 23rd appearance for the Reds.
The players had previously arrived at the stadium with two children of the late former Liverpool and Wolverhampton professional Diogo Jota, and fans of both teams remembered Jota, who died in an accident in the summer. It was the first duel between the teams the Portuguese had played for in England. Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso was also in the stadium.
:Anfield sings for Diogo Jota
“We had help from above”: Liverpool’s opening win is a tribute to the attacker who died in the summer. At the same time, the pitfalls of the new offensive style became apparent in the 4-2 win against Bournemouth.
Wirtz (42nd) made it 2-0 for the Reds in the 1585th competitive minute after a nice pass from Hugo Ekitiké; former Bayern professional Ryan Gravenberch (41st) had previously scored the opening goal. “The feeling on the pitch, with the fans around me, was very nice. I was very happy and still am,” Wirtz later said on Sky.
Coach Arne Slot also praised the German international: “It’s nice that he scored the first goal, but that’s just the beginning. I think with his qualities he knows best that he will score many more goals for us.” Liverpool jumped to fourth place in the table, ten points behind leaders Arsenal. The Wanderers, still without a win, are last with just two points.
Kevin Schade scores three times for Brentford
National player Kevin Schade had an outstanding afternoon, scoring three times (7th, 51st, 90th + 6th) in Brentford FC’s 4-1 (2-0) win against AFC Bournemouth. This meant his team improved to ninth place in the table.
Arsenal won 2-1 (1-0) against Brighton & Hove Albion coached by Fabian Hürzeler. The Londoners thus pushed Manchester City back from the top, which had previously won 2-1 (0-0) at Nottingham Forest. Rayan Cherki (83rd) scored ManCity’s late winning goal.
