Florian Wirtz

Liverpool’s 2025/2026 season has begun in stark contrast to pre-season expectations. Rather than establishing early control and consistency under Arne Slot, performances have been inconsistent, with rhythm, attacking cohesion, and efficiency fluctuating throughout the opening fixtures. This instability has extended beyond the team structure; even Mohamed Salah, long Liverpool’s most...

Liverpool came into Wednesday on the back of a 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Anfield.  It was their fourth straight loss in all competitions for Arne Slot’s side, so they were in desperate need of a positive result.  Eintracht Frankfurt came into the match having lost three of their...

Liverpool return from the international break on a three-match losing streak and now trail Arsenal by one point in the title race. This summer, they underwent a squad overhaul, bringing in Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, and Alexander Isak. Perhaps the most significant signing was securing Mohamed Salah to a new...

Galatasaray won their second match of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase after playing a historic match against Liverpool and beating them 1-0, a huge result for the Turkish side. Galatasaray failed to win their first UEFA Champions League game, losing 1-5 to Eintracht Frankfurt. Making up for that in the...

Florian Wirtz’s arrival at Liverpool was met with huge anticipation, with many believing that the German playmaker would become a cornerstone of Arne Slot’s new-look system. Having shone consistently in the Bundesliga, Wirtz brought with him the reputation of a creative force, capable of dictating play between the lines and...

Germany started their FIFA World Cup qualifier campaign with a disappointing defeat away to Slovakia. However, they bounced back with a 3-1 victory against Northern Ireland. Julian Nagelsmann altered his lineup and formation from the previous game, which ultimately yielded him the three points. Going from a back four to...

After lifting the 2024/2025 Premier League title, Liverpool entered the summer transfer window with an unmistakable sense of ambition. Under new tactical leadership, the Reds were not merely content to defend their crown; they were intent on refining and reinforcing their squad to maintain both domestic and European dominance. This...

Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid crashed out of the FIFA Club World Cup in embarrassing fashion at the hands of Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain. The 4-0 thrashing by current Champions League winner PSG showed that Los Blancos have a long way to go to regain their status as one of Europe’s elite...

Last Friday, Liverpool broke the British record transfer fee by signing one of the most exciting players of this generation, the German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, for £100m with potential add-ons totalling £16m, which would bring the total to £116m. The current Premier League champions have been making...

Germany reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League but were knocked out by Portugal before losing to France in the third-place playoff. The DFB-Elf performance combined a promising style of play with a feeling that many aspects and choices can be improved ahead of bigger occasions, most notably the...

At the beginning of May, Bayer Leverkusen officially announced the signing of talented Algerian midfielder Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin, activating a €12 million release clause in his contract to secure his services. The 2023/2024 German champions made the move quickly, given the interest Maza was garnering with the summer...

Many Team of the Season selections are, frankly, boring. Sometimes, you couldn't really call it a team; it's just a selection of eleven players, and their actual positions don't even matter. Sometimes, it's just an absurd selection because the idea is to pick only the players they think are the...

Now it’s finally official: Carlo Ancelotti’s second stint as Real Madrid manager has come to an end, and former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso will replace him. It has been an open secret for over a year that Florentino Perez wanted his former player to be the next Real Madrid manager. With the current season...

Listen to this article free on the Total Football Analysis Podcast.  Available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or RSS. As the club's historic era comes to an end, with manager Xabi Alonso likely heading to Real Madrid, it's time to look forward to the future for Bayer Leverkusen. They look set to embark on a new journey under former...

Despite currently enjoying an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, putting them on the path to a record-extending 34th German championship, Bayern Munich were unable to break their Bayer Leverkusen hoodoo on the domestic scene from last season in their direct battles. With both league fixtures for the...

After losing against Spain in the quarter-final of UEFA Euro 2024, Germany have won four and drawn one in five matches to top their group in the UEFA Nations League. Offensively, Julian Nagelsmann's side has been superb, scoring 17 goals in five matches at the time of writing. This is...

Bayer Leverkusen Defensive Struggles  Competition in the Bundesliga looks to be fierce this year. After five rounds, the defending champions Bayer Leverkusen occupy fourth place with 10 points, just three behind the leaders FC Bayern, who have 13 points; this places them just one point ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt in...

As Bayer 04 Leverkusen prepares for the 2024/25 Bundesliga season and their international campaign in the UEFA Champions League, the focus is on building a squad capable of challenging for the Bundesliga title against FC Bayern, Dortmund and others once again. Bayer Head Coach Xabi Alonso is determined to surpass...

With a highly anticipated transfer to Bayer Leverkusen this past window, Alejandro Grimaldo has thus far displayed key qualities that have led many to regard him as the 'bargain of the summer'. Having just won his fourth Portuguese league title with Benfica, Grimaldo has brought a wealth of experience to Xabi Alonso's side....