Why Wirtz’s Numbers At Brentford Deserve A Longer Look

Buried underneath the scoreline from Brentford was a number that deserves far more attention than a single line in the match report. Florian Wirtz created nine chances from open play during Liverpool’s 2-1 win, and once you understand how rare that is, the whole afternoon looks a little different.

Nine open play chances created in a single Premier League match is not just a good day at the office, it is the kind of figure that barely shows up in the record books.

According to Liverpool’s official website, nobody had managed nine in the competition since Sadio Mane did it for this club against Burnley back in January 2021, and nobody had produced that tally away from home in well over fifteen years, with Samir Nasri’s ten coming all the way back in August 2011.