Shifting focus to the league
The Reds’ European journey was halted at Anfield on Tuesday night as the defending champions, PSG, secured a 2-0 win in their quarter-final tie to advance 4-0 on aggregate. Despite the disappointment of the exit, Wirtz was quick to pivot the squad's attention toward their domestic obligations, where Arne Slot’s side currently sits fifth in the table. The Premier League will have five qualification slots for the Champions League once again, and Wirtz has stressed the importance of securing one.
“The focus goes completely to the end of the season for the league,” Wirtz told the club website. “We have to play [in the] Champions League next season, we owe this to the club and to the fans. We will give our best, like we did today, and hopefully we can make minimum the top five.”
A night of missed chances
Reflecting on the second leg, the former Bayer Leverkusen star praised the much-improved performance and the "on fire" atmosphere created by the home support. Liverpool pushed hard to overturn the two-goal deficit from the first leg, but a pivotal block by Marquinhos on Virgil van Dijk and a rescinded VAR penalty stifled their momentum.
“We tried everything,” said Wirtz. “I think the whole stadium was on fire and the fans, big compliments to them. We tried everything from the first minute, but we needed that one goal to get the turnaround started. We were just missing the goal. That’s football – when you don’t score goals, you don’t win games.”
Frustration and clinical margins
Despite creating better openings after the interval, the inability to convert pressure into goals left the Reds vulnerable to late counter-attacks, with an Ousmane Dembele brace sealing the victory for PSG. Wirtz concluded: “In the first half it was a bit more difficult to create chances and then in the second half we got some good chances, but in the end there was the little thing that missed in the end to score the goal. It’s frustrating but we have to take it and move on.”
Up next: The Merseyside derby
The mission to secure a top-five spot begins immediately with a high-stakes trip to face Everton at Goodison Park this Sunday. Liverpool currently occupy fifth place with 52 points, holding a crucial four-point lead over their nearest challengers Chelsea as the race for Champions League qualification nears its climax. For Wirtz, the focus is now entirely on the final sprint after what has been a very mixed debut season for the Germany international at Anfield.