Liverpool, October 19, 2025 – The scars from Anfield’s derby demolition are still raw as former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel unleashed a blistering post-match tirade targeting one of the Reds’ most expensive flops: Florian Wirtz. In the wake of Manchester United’s 2-1 Premier League triumph on Sunday – a result that plunged Arne Slot’s title defense into freefall – the 38-year-old Dutchman, who patrolled Liverpool’s left flank in his 2007-2011 stint, didn’t hold back on his ‘Ryan Babel Podcast’. “I played on that same wing in my last game against the Chelsea legend a few days ago — and even at my age, I can still run, create chances, and make some real moves. But what this particular guy was doing today was totally unacceptable 😤 He needs to be benched for at least three matches so he can learn from his mistakes and understand what it means to wear that badge!” Babel fumed, his emoji-laden fury going viral with over 500,000 views in hours. The “particular guy”? Wirtz, the £100 million German prodigy whose ghosting display against United has ignited calls for his immediate demotion.
Babel’s outburst arrives amid Liverpool’s nightmarish slide: fourth defeats in six league outings following the stoppage-time agony against Chelsea on October 4, where Wirtz’s halftime withdrawal mirrored his derby exile at the 60th minute. Slot’s Reds, who romped to the 2024-25 crown with Jürgen Klopp’s swansong symphony of 98 points and 102 goals, now limp third on 15 points from 10 games, nine adrift of Manchester City’s imperious start. The Anfield clash, a venomous northwest showdown under floodlights, saw Mohamed Salah flash an early opener in the 12th minute – a curling beauty that briefly silenced Old Trafford’s traveling horde – only for Bruno Fernandes to equalize from the spot in the 67th after VAR spotted Cody Gakpo’s inadvertent handball. Kobbie Mainoo’s 82nd-minute counter-punch, a clinical finish from Marcus Rashford’s through ball, sealed Ruben Amorim’s first derby scalp, his United side climbing to eighth while Liverpool’s Champions League dreams flicker.
Wirtz, the 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen refugee billed as Slot’s “creative heir” upon his summer arrival, was the whipping boy. Deployed on the left in a tweaked 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Salah’s right-wing mastery, the German managed a measly 32 touches, zero key passes, and lost possession 12 times – his worst stat line since a 2023-24 Bundesliga benching. Conor Bradley, filling the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s £100 million Madrid exodus, was left exposed as Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho tag-teamed the flank, winning 14 of 18 duels. Babel, reflecting on his own left-wing cameos against Chelsea icon Ashley Cole in a 2009-10 thriller – where he notched an assist in a 3-1 win – drew a stark contrast. “I was 22 then, full of fire, but even now, training with pros in Dubai, I could outrun Wirtz today,” the ex-Ajax star scoffed. “He drifts, hides – no fight. That’s not Liverpool DNA. Benching him? Three games minimum: learn humility, earn the shirt.”
Babel’s ire echoes a broader mutiny. The Dutchman, fined £10,000 in 2011 for tweeting a mocked-up image of referee Howard Webb in United kit after an FA Cup loss – a social media scandal that birthed Premier League clauses on player posts – knows Anfield’s unforgiving glare. “Slot’s flipped the club like at Feyenoord: won silverware, but alienated souls,” he continued, referencing the upheaval that saw Calvin Stengs and others marginalized. Wirtz’s ledger? Zero goals, one assist in 10 starts; four halftime exits; and a heat map clustered in no-man’s-land, per Opta. Slot’s post-match defense – “He’s adapting; give him grace” – rang hollow against Danny Murphy’s earlier “little problem” tag on Salah, now extending to the German. “Better subs? Harvey Elliott’s electric, waiting. Or young Luca Stephenson from the U21s – fresh legs, heart,” Babel urged, his podcast clip dissected on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
The derby dissected Liverpool’s fissures. United, under Amorim’s pragmatic 3-4-3 post his January coup, absorbed early pressure with Lisandro Martínez’s ironclad marking on Virgil van Dijk, while Fernandes’ vision – eight key passes in the game – orchestrated from deep. Slot’s high line, bereft of Alexander-Arnold’s diagonals, invited counters: United’s xG soared to 1.8 against Liverpool’s 1.2. Darwin Núñez fluffed two screamers, Alexis Mac Allister’s 65% pass accuracy betrayed midfield malaise, and Salah, despite his goal, covered just 8.7km – his lowest in a derby since 2018. “This squad? Not last season’s warriors,” Babel lamented, channeling Klopp’s “mentality monsters.” Fan fury boiled over: #WirtzOut trended with 300k posts, scarves hurled in disgust, attendance dipping to 59,000 from capacity.
Slot, the 47-year-old who spurned Tottenham for Anfield’s allure, faces Armageddon. FSG, buoyed by £150 million recouped from Alexander-Arnold and Jarell Quansah’s Leverkusen switch, ponder the £240 million summer splurge: Wirtz, Alexander Isak (£80m, three goals), Viktor Gyökeres (£60m, bench fodder). “Upside-down like Feyenoord,” Babel reiterated, alluding to Slot’s Rotterdam revolution that yielded a 2022-23 Eredivisie but fractured dressing-room bonds. Pundits amplify: Jamie Carragher, on The Overlap, called Wirtz “a luxury we can’t afford,” while Gary Neville gloated: “United exposed the emperor’s new clothes.” Even Salah, in a terse Instagram: “Badge first. Always.”
As the break beckons, with England and Netherlands duties for Bradley and Slot respectively, Babel’s blueprint looms: bench, rebuild, reignite. For a club that crowned Klopp’s farewell with glory, Wirtz’s wing woes symbolize deeper decay. “I don’t know who needs to hear this… but unacceptable means change,” Babel concluded. Anfield, heed the exile’s roar – or risk the roar fading to whispers.
