Did Chiesa justify clamour for Liverpool start? Assessing Italian's spirited display v Wolves - opinion
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Liverpool supporters got what they were asking for on Saturday as Federico Chiesa started a Premier League match for the first time in eight months.The Italian is one of Arne Slot’s few attacking options left available, and in the absence of Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, he started from the right against Wolves.Fans have been desperate to see more of Chiesa, who has become a favourite amongst the Anfield faithful during his 18 months with Liverpool.Join our newsletter for news & smart analysis. 14 a start, how did he actually play?Federico Chiesa was quiet against WolvesIt may be expected for a player who has barely featured meaningfully for 18 months, but Chiesa was quiet against Wolves.The former Juventus man touched the ball just 23 times throughout his hour on the pitch as he struggled to get fully involved.Photo by Brett Patzke – WWFC/Wolves via Getty ImagesREAD MORE: Liverpool player ratings vs Wolves as Florian Wirtz steals the show but more Reds fail to convinceFive of those touches came in the Wolves penalty box, with one fizzed cross from the left side perhaps his best moment.That was one of two crosses Chiesa attempted on the day, with neither finding a red shirt.The Italy international was also unsuccessful in the one dribble he attempted and won only one of four duels he contested.
Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say While the numbers do not paint the picture of a particularly good performance, though, Chiesa kept things ticking nicely in attack for Liverpool, while his relentless energy was a nice change from some of the lackadaisical stuff the Reds have served up of late.Will Chiesa start against Leeds? Chiesa may be slightly disappointed with his performance against Wolves.
He has worked hard and been patient to get his chance, and he did perhaps let it slip through his fingers.Nevertheless, Liverpool forwards have put in plenty of worse displays this season, and Chiesa arguably did his chances of further starts no harm at all.The next opportunity comes on Thursday as Leeds travel to Anfield, but it would be a surprise to see Chiesa go again.His fitness has always been the main blocker towards him starting more games for Liverpool and with so few options right now, it would feel unwise for Slot to give Chiesa another elongated performance.Having said that, he was taken off with half an hour still to play and may be relatively fresh as a result. Fans – and Slot – will have wanted to have seen more of Chiesa on Saturday, but he has shown that he can be trusted to form part of the Reds attack against Premier League opposition.