“I had an abnormal amount of space”

Reflecting on his brace against RB Salzburg, Florian Wirtz said he felt he had a lot more space than usual.

Florian Wirtz played a starring role in Bayer Leverkusen’s 5-0 Champions League win over RB Salzburg on Tuesday, scoring twice and providing an assist.

Speaking after the game, Wirtz expressed his surprise at how easy it was for him on the pitch.

“I had an abnormal amount of space, much more than usual,” Wirtz told DAZN after the win.

“I was able to use my quality and look for the spaces. that’s why it was fun.”

The 21-year-old opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the eighth minute and extended the lead to 3-0 on the half-hour mark after some fine dribbling.

He was particularly pleased with his second goal, which took his tally in the Champions League to five in five games this season.

“If I can score a nice goal with some nice dribbling and get the crowd going, that makes me happy,” said Wirtz.

Coach Xabi Alonso decided to take Wirtz off with around 15 minutes remaining to allow him to “recover a bit”.

“We need Flo at his best,” explained the Spaniard.

“We are in a stressful situation at the moment with six injured players,” he added, describing Wirtz as a “difference-maker” and a “genius”.