Gary Neville was critical of one Liverpool player who ‘looked like a little boy’ in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday and who, in his view, has become a ‘problem’ for Arne Slot.The miserable evening at the Etihad Stadium was Florian Wirtz’s 16th appearance for the Reds since joining from Bayer Leverkusen in a £116m deal during the summer, but the playmaker has yet to score for his new club and has registered just three assists in 1,119 minutes on the pitch (Transfermarkt).The 22-year-old was subjected to derisive chants of ‘What a waste of money’ from the home supporters when he was substituted in the 83rd minute, unable to make an impact in what’s always one of the biggest matches of the season for LFC.Neville: Wirtz needs to ‘stand up soon’ for LiverpoolSpeaking on The Gary Neville Podcast after the match, the Sky Sports pundit believes that Wirtz has now been at Liverpool for long enough to be subjected to genuine scrutiny over his performances, with the ex-Manchester United defender concerned about the German physically.He said: “Wirtz in particular, it was a really bad day for him. We’ve been tiptoeing around him for a few months, around the fact that he’s young, he’s coming to a new country, but he’s £120m [sic] and you’re gonna have to stand up soon.“He’s obviously got something, he’s a really good player, he’s technically fantastic, but he’s been mauled out there today by [Matheus] Nunes and by others. He’s been chucked around the pitch, and didn’t deliver on the quality side of things as well, so his performance was a real worry.”Neville added: “Wirtz is a problem. Let’s just call it as it is. It’s an issue. He’s £120m [sic] and, to be fair, I said a few weeks ago about [Milos] Kerkez that he looks like a little boy out there. Today I thought Wirtz looked like a little boy. That can’t be the case.”(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Wirtz isn’t lacking for effort, but his output is becoming a worryTo be fair to Liverpool’s number 7, his performance at the Etihad wasn’t lacking in effort. During the first half in particular, he tried to unpick the Man City defence with his dribbling ability, but his influence faded as the match went on.It summed up Wirtz’s time with the Reds as a whole so far – plenty of endeavour and a determination to make an impact, but things just aren’t coming off for him, or he’s getting outmuscled by players with greater physical strength.It’s still way too early to dismiss him as a flop, but having now had a third of a season at Anfield, LFC fans could viably expect a bit more in terms of output from an attacker who’s proven that he can rack up big numbers at a high level in Europe.Whereas Alexander Isak can be cut some slack due to his fitness issues since joining Liverpool, Wirtz hasn’t had the same excuse given the game-time he’s had already. It’s not a great look that he’s still searching for his first goal of the campaign when a centre-back in Micky van de Ven already has six.Hopefully when the Premier League champions reconvene after the international break, we’ll see the 22-year-old exert more of an influence in the final third and produce the G/A numbers which’ll answer critics such as Neville.You can watch Slot’s full post-Man City press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:The post ‘Looked like a little boy’ – Gary Neville takes aim at Liverpool player who’s become a ‘problem’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.