A week after recording his first assist in the Premier League, the Germany international – signed on a £116million contract in the summer – scored 89 seconds after Ryan Gravenberch’s opener.
The 22-year-old was the standout in a team performance that turned from dominant in the first half to nervous and shaky as Hugo Bueno reduced the deficit after the break, having exposed a persistent weakness on set pieces.
“I think I’m pretty sure it was a relief for him,” Slot van Wirtz said.
“I could see it in his reaction when he scored and the same went for his teammates, they were very happy for him.
“In football, perhaps rightly, we are mainly judged on results and individuals are mainly judged on goals and assists and we sometimes forget what else there is to do during a match.
“I think he has played several good games for us, but I also think he is getting better every game he plays for us.
“He’s getting fitter and getting closer to his first goal and it’s no surprise he scored today.
“He will be the first to understand that one goal is not enough, so hopefully he will score many more goals for us than just this goal.
“But I also liked his performance during large parts of the match today. I think he was special in many moments.”
Tribute to Diogo Jota was ‘difficult but special’
It was an emotional afternoon for two former clubs of Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident with his brother Andre Silva in July.
Jota’s two sons, plus two other young members of the family, were part of the pre-match presentation as they walked out with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Wolves’ Portuguese goalkeeper Jose Sa, watched by Jota’s wife Rute.
“Difficult but also special and nice in a certain way. The football world has shown how to behave at moments like this,” said Slot.
“Our fans have been incredible since the tragedy happened to this day, every moment doing what you would hope they would do in his memory.
“Today the away fans showed that it’s not just about our fans. You know how special English fans are and today we showed that to the world.”
Despite a tough second half, Wolves fell to an eleventh consecutive defeat and are the first Premier League club to fail to win any of their first eighteen games.
“It’s another defeat so it’s tough,” said boss Rob Edwards, who has failed to stop the slide after taking charge seven games ago.
“I said to the boys, ‘I’m really tired of this’ and I know they’re hurting too, but I’ll watch the game back and take some of the emotion out of it and feel some of the good things too.
“In the second half there was a team that was brave and showed quality against a top team.”
The great debate
Is Florian Wirtz now Liverpool’s main striker?
With his first goal finally out of the way, do you think Wirtz should be the first name on the team sheet ahead of the Leeds game?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
#Wirtz #challenged #Slot #redemption #Liverpool #milestone #goal