Nine. That is how many key passes Florian Wirtz produced at the Gtech Community Stadium, more than any other player on the pitch, as Liverpool came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 in the Premier League.
The final one counted for the most. Wirtz's assist set up Liverpool's winning goal, the moment that turned a tense afternoon in west London into three points. It capped a performance built on relentless probing rather than one single moment of magic: time and again Wirtz found pockets between Brentford's lines and slid the ball into dangerous areas, even when the end product did not immediately arrive.
Busy, if not always clean
Wirtz completed 51 of his 63 attempted passes, a completion rate that reflects a player constantly trying to force the issue rather than simply recycling possession. Plenty of those misplaced balls were the inevitable cost of ambition in the final third, the kind of risk-taking that also produced those nine key passes.
His overall rating of 6.6 undersells the volume of chances he created, but it is a fair reflection of a display that was more about craft and persistence than individual brilliance. Liverpool needed both from him. Brentford had taken the lead and made life difficult, and it was Wirtz's willingness to keep feeding teammates in the box that eventually turned the game.
By the time the final whistle went, Wirtz had been Liverpool's chief creator by some distance. The assist will be what shows up in the headlines, but the nine key passes tell the fuller story of a midfielder who kept probing until Brentford's defence finally cracked.
For Liverpool, the result means another away day survived against a Brentford side that made them work. For Wirtz, it is another data point in a season where chance creation has become his signature contribution.