StatsAnalysis: The numbers behind Florian Wirtz's creativity, dribbling, pressing and more
Florian Wirtz arrives at Liverpool with a catalogue full of incredible statistics from his time at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Germany international enjoyed five-and-a-half successful years with Die Werkself, where he developed to become one of the most promising talents in world football.
Here, we go in-depth on the statistics behind the Reds' new playmaker…
Incredible output and creativity
Only one player under the age of 23 in Europe's top five divisions has had more league goal involvements across the last two seasons than Wirtz (44).
Moreover, he was one of just six players to break double figures in goals and assists last season among the pool of Europe's leading leagues.
Wirtz, as the stats prove, is simply a creative force of nature.
Since making his Bundesliga debut as a 17-year-old in May 2020, he has created 253 chances from open play. Only Thomas Muller had more in that timeframe.
Wirtz fashioned an average of 2.1 open-play chances per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga last season, the most of any Leverkusen player.
He departs the league having recorded 44 assists, and that total was only bettered by Muller and Vincenzo Grifo over the course of Wirtz's time in the German top flight.
The art of dribbling
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There are compilation videos from Wirtz's time at Leverkusen solely dedicated to his dribbling skills.
The 22-year-old has lit up the Bundesliga and European competitions by gliding past opponents with close control, nifty footwork and the dropping of shoulders.
Only Lamine Yamal, Mohammed Kudus and Jeremy Doku completed more dribbles than Wirtz in the last two seasons across Europe's top five leagues.
He led the Bundesliga in 2024-25 for attempted take-ons, dribbles attempted and dribbles completed (313, 165 and 82 in the respective categories).
Ball carries are defined by Opta as moving the ball five metres or more, and Wirtz ranked fourth in that statistic in the 2024-25 Bundesliga. Five of his assists came on the back of such a carry, with only Wolfsburg's Mohammed Amoura producing more (six).
Ball progressing
Wirtz can change the game in an instant when passing or getting on the ball.
During Leverkusen's title-winning season of 2023-24, he topped the Bundesliga for making and receiving progressive passes.
They are defined as passes completed in the attacking two-thirds of the pitch that move the ball at least 25 per cent closer to the opposition goal.
He ranked eighth for progressive passes made and third for received in 2024-25.
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An accurate marksman
Scoring goals is another huge part of Wirtz's game and, including his efforts on the international scene, he has 64 career strikes to his name currently.
A deeper dive into the data shows just how much the attacking midfielder makes the most of his sightings of goal.
In 2024-25, Wirtz was one of only three players in the Bundesliga to attempt at least 50 shots and hit the target with half of them. Thirty-nine of his 78 efforts in the league last season threatened the opposition's goal.
A pressing machine
Hansi Flick, Wirtz's former coach for the German national team, has labelled Liverpool's new signing as 'the full package'.
Wirtz combines his gifted ability on the ball with a work-rate loved by coaches, teammates and supporters.
With 1.25 per 90 minutes, he had the most high turnovers – possessions won in the final third – among all Bundesliga players in 2024-25.
Across the last two seasons, he has had 71 high turnovers, which is at least 15 more than any other player in the competition.
His high-pressing nature was carried into the 2024-25 Champions League, too, where Wirtz produced a team-leading 679 pressures in his nine outings.
Elsewhere, only Jeremie Frimpong produced more Bundesliga sprints for Leverkusen than Wirtz's 865 in the previous campaign.
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Where he tends to play
Blessed with the ability to use both feet and a ranging skillset, Wirtz has not been fixed to one position throughout his blossoming career.
His heatmap shows he was deployed mostly as an inverted winger on the left flank last season, and 45 per cent of his open-play touches were on the left-hand side of the opposition's half.
But he did display a tendency to drift across the pitch in his role, akin to a typical No.10.
Wirtz was also successfully utilised as a false nine at times by Xabi Alonso during Leverkusen's historic 2023-24 season, which consisted of a league and cup double and run to the Europa League final.
A dependable man from the spot
Wirtz joins the list of extremely competent penalty takers in the Liverpool squad.
He took the first spot-kick of his senior career in April 2024 against Fortuna Dusseldorf and scored – converting five of his seven attempts for Leverkusen in total.
His first miss was in the 101st minute of a crazy game with Borussia Monchengladbach last August – but he made up for it by converting the rebound from Jonas Omlin's save to snatch a 3-2 victory.
"I believe my teammates value me very much and know that I like to take on responsibility," Wirtz told Sports Illustrated recently. "That starts with always wanting to have the ball on the pitch to resolve situations.
"The fact that I've been taking penalties since this season has also contributed to that. After all, I'm expected to score every time – a pressure I'm happy to take on."