Federico Chiesa made himself the hero on the opening day of the Premier League after scoring a late winner for Liverpool against Bournemouth.

The Reds had shot themselves in the foot having gone 2-0 up, with an Antoine Semenyo double pegging them back.

But just as it looked like Liverpool would draw the game, or even go on to lose, up popped Chiesa with a lovely volley to edge the Reds back in front.

It was a wonderful moment for the Italian, who has had a rough time of things since arriving at Anfield one year ago.

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Chiesa admitted he could stay at Liverpool this summer, despite plenty of links with a move away, and a prolonging of his career with the Reds would go down well with supporters who adore the man from Florence.

Arne Slot has been the man responsible for not playing Chiesa as much as fans would maybe like, but after Friday’s game the Dutch coach explained exactly why he thinks the 27-year-old is so popular despite his lack of minutes.

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Part of the reason Chiesa has quickly become a cult figure amongst Liverpool fans is because of his song.

Undeniably catchy, the Chiesa chant can regularly be heard ringing around Anfield even when the Italy international is not playing.

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And when quizzed on why he thinks Chiesa is so popular with supporters, Slot referenced the song, as well as the fact that the former Juventus man had made the rare move from Italy to England.

“That’s difficult for me to tell you because although I am also a fan of this club I am never standing on the Kop and I don’t come up with these songs,” the Liverpool head coach said in his post-match press conference.

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“The only thing I can come up with maybe is that Federico had a great history, he was a big player deciding to go from Italy to England.

I don’t know – maybe it’s also a nice song to sing!

Maybe our fans remember that.”

For some time now it has felt as though Chiesa leaving Liverpool this summer had become inevitable.

However, Friday night felt like the first time when the tide started to turn.

Given Liverpool’s clear lack of attackers, there is a chink of light for him to stay put.

It is true that the Bournemouth game did not really showcase what Liverpool can expect from Chiesa.

As he often has been, he was thrown on to try and salvage a game and seemingly had no set role.

But what the European Championship winner did show is a capability to be in the right place at the right time to get the Reds a goal.

On a night where Anfield hailed and remembered Diogo Jota, it felt fitting that the goal that won the day was one the little Portuguese would have been proud of himself.