The 2025-26 season hasn’t gone to plan for Liverpool, and it certainly hasn’t gone as Florian Wirtz would have ever expected when the 22-year-old rated as Germany’s top young talent and a player already in the superstar conversation agreed to join up from Bayer Leverkusen in a £107M blockbuster transfer deal.
Hopes of a title defence for the club disappeared almost instantly as the Reds plummeted down the table in the autumn, and domestic silverware chances in the League Cup and FA Cup have since disappeared as well. Now all that’s left is the Champions League, which is no small thing—even if external expectations are low.
“These are the games you want to play as a player and for sure to come through the round,” Wirtz said of the challenge of facing an in-form Paris Saint-Germain side in the quarter finals of Europe’s premier cup competition and with the season now very much on the line for Wirtz and his club teammates at Liverpool.
“It’s a very big competition, and Champions League games are always special. So we try to enjoy it, to come as far as possible, and to hopefully come through this round. We know it’s difficult, that the best teams in the world are playing Champions League, but it’s good to play against these teams and see where you are.”
Where Liverpool are doesn’t seem great after a 4-0 capitulation at Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter final on Saturday. Given season form many had been expected defeat there, but the manner of it with the Reds appearing to entirely give up after going a goal down in the first half still managed to shock the fans.
Meanwhile, they’re fifth in the league with the top five certain to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Yet given results and performances like Saturday’s at City, and with most seeingt the Reds’ season-ending domestic schedule as the toughest amongst those in the fight to finish top five, it’s hard to feel positive.
Still, while there are games to be played there is hope, and a strong performance and result against PSG could give players, fans, and everyone connected to the club reason to believe this talented but under-performing, lethargic, and mentally fragile group might just be able to belatedly find their feet and their form.
“We wanted to have a better season,” Wirtz added “We had goals this season. Of course the team won the league last season and this was for sure the aim for this season as well, but we are still in the Champions League now, so there’s still something to play for and also qualification for Champions League next season.
“So we still have some goals we want to achieve. We wanted it to be better but there’s still something to play for. We need 90 minutes of being together as a team, to in difficult moments if we concede stay together and still have belief. We have to stick together in the bad moments. We have to fix that for the game.”
