Alonso raves about Wirtz’s “genius” after wonder goal

Xabi Alonso has heaped praise on Florian Wirtz after the youngster scored a superb goal against St. Pauli.

Bayer Leverkusen got off to the best possible start at home to St. Pauli on Saturday thanks to a moment of brilliance from Florian Wirtz.

Six minutes into the game, he Germany international latched on to Granit Xhaka’s pass and put the ball through the legs of St. Pauli’s Eric Smith before slamming it into the net.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xavi Alonso was impressed by what he saw.

“I haven’t seen it on TV yet, but it was great live,” said Xabi Alonso in a post-match interview.

“His control, his dribbling. It’s not easy to do that in a tight space…

“He is a special player for us. We’re happy that he’s here and gives us that extra quality,” said the Spaniard, who refused to take any credit for the goal.

“He has a top mentality and I had nothing to do with the goal. That’s his genius, his moment.”