Liverpool won in the end with Federico Chiesa the clear man of the match, but the overall team performance wasn’t great.
When Federico Chiesa scored the winner in the 88th minute of the Premier League opener against Bournemouth back in August, many Liverpool fans saw it as the beginning of a redemption arc; a sign the Italian forward might just have earned himself a key role heading into the 2025-26 season.
Instead, it was followed almost immediately by news that Chiesa would not be included in the Champions League squad. So much for that much desired redemption arc, then. Having now put in a two assist, Man of the Match performance against Southampton in the League Cup, though? Arc status: back on.
“I did enjoy playing,” Chiesa reflected afterwards when asked about his night. “I always enjoy playing at Anfield and for Liverpool. But I have to say it wasn’t a great performance by the team. We should have been more concentrated since the start. But at the end we won and that’s what we wanted.”
When a manager sends out a highly changed side for an early round domestic cup tie, there’s always a mix of excitement and trepidation. Excitement to see fringe and youth players getting a chance to shine. And trepidation as highly changed sides often look disorganised and short of match fitness.
Sending out eleven players who mostly haven’t played much—if at all—together and who individually may not have had a minute of competitive action in weeks or even months can result in some off performances and an overall display that might often seem short of the sum of the parts involved.
However there are often, too, individuals who manage to stand out; fringe and youth players who make a strong case that they should be getting more minutes. Chiesa certainly looked one of those on Tuesday. Hopefully that can earn the fan favourite the larger role his Bournemouth goal didn’t.
Category: General Sports
