New season, same story. Florian Wirtz’s performances for Liverpool are being criticised.There’s no question that Wirtz has failed to live up to his billing since moving from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for £116million ($157m). It’s also inarguable that he bears responsibility for the deficiencies of his first season. Moving to the Premier League from the Bundesliga is a challenge, but it’s one he accepted with an understanding of what it might involve.And yet there’s a disingenuous aspect to the coverage. It often identifies Wirtz as the underperforming player within an otherwise healthy side. Clearly, that is not the case. Compared with Jurgen Klopp’s magnificent team and the one that won the Premier League in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, Liverpool have been clunky and vulnerable over the past 13 months, playing without identity, fluidity or confidence.How many players in world football would succeed under the same conditions? Goalscorers sometimes can because their existence — they take chances and miss chances — tends to be simpler and more binary, albeit more pressurised. But there are few players who could be dropped into the interior of a side and then be expected to perform independently of the mood or chemistry.Rhythm matters, too.Memories of Wirtz in Germany are all quite similar. The 23-year-old would flow with the ball, moving forward at every opportunity, with so much of his game depending upon instinct, quick decisions and understanding with his team-mates. There was a lightness to his touches, whereas now he plays slower, more deliberately, and without nearly the same certainty in what he’s doing.During the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United last weekend, there was an instructive passage of play in the second half. Wirtz received the ball just across the halfway line, moved into space, and tried to push Cody Gakpo infield, towards the penalty box. Gakpo did not anticipate the ball and, rather than running into a shooting position, he was slow to react. The ball was intercepted, and the move ended.