Federico Chiesa shares true feelings on Liverpool Champions League snub and terrace anthem

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Excluded from the initial 23-man Champions League squad on a technicality over a lack of home-grown players - meaning Arne Slot had to choose teenager Rio Ngumoha over his more experienced colleague - the 27-year-old is also having to catch the eye of his coach with Mohamed Salah ahead of him in the pecking order.

And with the FA Cup not on the calendar until January, the forward is left with little choice but to grasp the opportunities afforded to him in the League Cup with both hands.

So a pair of assists for Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in Tuesday night's 2-1 win over Southampton felt like an ideal response to the gauntlet being thrown down.

"I can play more in this competition but I want to show the manager I can play more in the Premier League," Chiesa says.

"The coach gave me chances in the first four games and I think I showed that I can help the team.

All the other players want it.

"If you play for Liverpool, you have to be able to make a difference.

I’m very happy for the moment and I have to keep working hard to get more chances in the future."

Chiesa has been inadvertently the subject of an intense in-house debate where the Reds fanbase is concerned of late.

The Italian's catchy terrace anthem, set to Dean Martin's Sway, is one of the most inventive in years, but his goal against Bournemouth led to fierce discussion online over whether the line 'f***off Juve, I'm a Kopite now' is needlessly derogatory and combative to a club with whom Liverpool share tragic history with, relating to the Heysel disaster of 1985.

It's unlikely the man himself has been fully immersed in the historical nuances of the supporters' debate but he sees no issue with the song, preferring to view it in good faith.

He says: "Since last year I had been feeling that – I needed to give them something back.

These first few appearances this year, I have given them something but I want to keep on doing it.

"The support they have given to me in every match is fantastic.

The support is just amazing."

For Chiesa to continue giving back, he must now step up in the absence of Ekitike, who is suspended for Saturday's match at Crystal Palace after a red card against Southampton for removing his shirt while already on a booking.

For the versatile attacker, the trip to Selhurst Park could be another day to show Slot what he is capable of.

He says: "I play for a top club.

If I don’t want competition, I go to another team.

"But I want the competition, I want to play here and I think, at the end of the day, competition helps you to become a better player."

Chiesa may yet earn a recall to the Champions League squad based on the severity of Leoni's injury but he pulled the curtain back on how he handled the news from Slot at the time, saying: "He told me what he was thinking, why he chose to do what he did.

"Of course I was sorry that I am not part of the Champions League squad, as to play in it is every player’s dream.