Football
Liverpool Boss Arne Slot Pleased With ‘Hard Working’ Federico Chiesa Following Full Debut vs West Ham
Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.
Get to know Cai Parry betterPublished26 Sep 2024
Liverpool manager Arne Slot is pleased with the progress summer signing Federico Chiesa is making after the Italian winger made his full debut for the club against West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Having made cameo appearances from the bench against AC Milan and Bournemouth, Federico Chiesa finally made his full Liverpool debut on Wednesday evening, starting on the right wing in the 5-1 win over West Ham in the Carabao Cup third round.
Chiesa joined the Reds from Juventus in the summer in a deal reportedly worth £10 million plus a further £2.5 million in add-ons, but he has been condemned to the sidelines until last week due to a lack of match fitness.
Keen to make an impact on his first start for the club, Chiesa did just that, as he registered his first goal involvement in front of the Anfield faithful through assisting Diogo Jota’s leveller just four minutes after the Hammers took the lead.
Brilliant from Diogo Jota and Liverpool to level it 👏 pic.twitter.com/H1QgXevIii
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 25, 2024
The Italian lasted a total of 59 minutes before being substituted for Mohamed Salah in the second period, with another goal from Jota, a goal from Salah and a brace from Cody Gakpo inspiring Arne Slot’s side to a rampant 5-1 win to book their place in the fourth round, where they have been drawn to play away at Brighton towards the end of October.
Arne Slot Pleased With Federico Chiesa Progress
Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference on Wednesday, Slot said he was pleased to see Chiesa picking up some much-needed minutes.
“It was pleasing to see that he could already play 60 minutes, because he hasn’t played a lot. He has hardly played any minutes in the last three or four months. So for him, it is important to get more match minutes, and that’s what he got today.
“He assisted, although it was a shot on target that was promoted by Diogo to a goal. He worked really hard. I think it’s normal that he’s not already at the top of his ability.
“He has to get used to the club, he has to get used to his teammates, he has to adjust to the playing style. It was very good to see how match-fit he already is, so that we can use him if we need him.”
Up next for Chiesa and co. is a trip to the Midlands to take on Wolves at Molineux in the Premier League on Saturday evening, where the Reds are clear favourites to win the tie among the UK’s best football betting sites at a price of 4/11.