‘Stepped up’ – Steven Gerrard says ‘excellent’ Liverpool player has silenced his critics

Liverpool have come into their own under Andoni Iraola in October and have won their last four games across all competitions.

The Reds have been in fine form since the conclusion of the international break, with their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City their only blip.

Their upturn in form has coincided with Florian Wirtz stepping up, with the German international really enjoying his football currently.

And Steven Gerrard believes he has really silenced his critics after a string of eye-catching displays.

Steven Gerrard lauds Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz

“He came back from the international break with a real cloud of criticism,” said Gerrard via The Overlap.

“He’s stepped up, he’s accepted it and his performances have been a lot better.

“I think there’s more to come, but you can see the talent. He was excellent in the first half yesterday.”

When Jamie Carragher and a handful of others criticised Wirtz earlier in the season, Gerrard stood by him and urged the Liverpool fans to keep their faith.

And now, it appears to have borne fruit as the German international is slowly starting to find his feet at Anfield.

He needs to start producing more consistently and influencing proceedings in the bigger games, but Wirtz certainly looks like he has finally arrived as a Liverpool player.