Liverpool’s £100m players Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola were outperformed by teenagers Koumas and Munoz in the 3-0 home defeat by Manchester City, according to Jamie Carragher.
Speaking on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s sixth-round Premier League loss, Carragher said Wirtz had failed to meet expectations and called for changes in Liverpool’s midfield.
“Liverpool spent a lot of money, but the returns are far from what they should be,” said Carragher.
He revisited criticism he made of Wirtz after Liverpool’s previous away match at Bournemouth, when some supporters accused him of being overly negative after Liverpool won before the international break.
Carragher said he had suggested Jurgen Klopp might be able to offer Wirtz “some care and encouragement” when the player returned to the German national team. Wirtz had scored and assisted in that match under Klopp, producing what Carragher described as an excellent performance.
However, he felt Wirtz had been unable to make the same impact against Manchester City.
“Isak and Gakpo are both absent, and they are our two best-performing attackers this season,” Carragher said. “We need Barcola and Florian Wirtz to really step up and help Munoz and Koumas upfront.”
Instead, he said Koumas and Munoz had performed better than the two £100m players.
“This shouldn’t be the case – it really shouldn’t,” he added. “When Liverpool were down to 10 men, everyone in the stadium knew who to substitute. There was no need to even think about it.”
Carragher praised Ryan Gravenberch as Liverpool’s most positive aspect of the match, saying the midfielder had looked like the player who excelled during his first two years at the club, when Liverpool won the title.
He said Gravenberch had started the season poorly under the new manager and had subsequently been removed from the starting XI, but argued Wirtz should not be ahead of him in terms of playing time.
“I know they play different positions,” said Carragher. “Gravenberch is about 1.91 metres tall, can make big strides forward, has technical ability and can score goals. He brings much more to the team.”
Carragher believes Liverpool must reshape their midfield because Wirtz is currently not contributing enough.
He also drew a distinction between Wirtz and Barcola based on their time at Liverpool. Wirtz has played between 55 and 60 matches for the club, while Barcola has made only four or five appearances and has not yet produced an exceptional performance.
Carragher said it would be reasonable to show patience with Barcola because he is adapting to new team-mates and a new league, and did not take part in pre-season training. He added that criticising a player after only five or six matches would be too harsh.
“But criticising a player who has played nearly 60 games is neither harsh nor excessive,” he said.
