I saw what Federico Chiesa did in Liverpool open training - it spoke volumes despite latest absence

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Federico Chiesa could have been forgiven for feeling mixed emotions the last time the Liverpool squad were put through their paces in an open training session at the AXA Training Centre.Coming before the Reds’ Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid, the Italian joined his team-mates for the session but already knew he would not be involved against the La Liga outfit.Arne Slot made headlines when he made the bold decision to leave the forward out of his initial European squad, instead opting to select both Rio Ngumoha and Giovanni Leoni with the young pair tasked with providing depth in attack and at centre-back.READ MORE: Arne Slot faces major Hugo Ekitike decision as Liverpool consider defensive overhaulREAD MORE: Federico Chiesa trains alongside Hugo Ekitike after Liverpool recall as injured striker missingIneligible against Atletico, he was then left out of the matchday squad for Liverpool’s Merseyside derby victory over Everton with club-record signing Alexander Isak inevitably ahead of him in the attacking order. But since then, the forward has been handed a reprieve after Leoni suffered an ACL injury during an encouraging debut against Southampton in the League Cup last week.His lengthy absence enabled the Reds to take advantage of new UEFA registration rules and register Chiesa - who had recorded two assists in a man-of-the-match performance against the Saints - in their ranks in place of his fellow Italian for the remainder of the league phase.The forward then followed that up with a late equaliser off the bench against Crystal Palace on Saturday, only to see Liverpool denied a share of the spoils by Eddie Nketiah’s 97th minute winner.After spending his first season at Anfield predominantly on the sidelines, left playing catch-up after being denied a proper pre-season with former club Juventus, it is evident that Chiesa is hungry to make up for lost time and take advantage of his second opportunity with Liverpool.But it is one he will have to wait a little while longer for.

Despite his presence at open training, he was not included in the travelling squad for the trip to Turkey with Slot set to offer an update at his pre-match press conference this evening.Whatever the reason, his work-rate cannot be faulted - and has been applauded multiple times by his head coach already this season.This was perhaps again demonstrated best by one particularly enthusiastic moment in open training from the 27-year-old, who now boasts two goals and two assists from six outings this season.Paired up with Dominik Szoboszlai for an exercise which involved one player attempting to sprint off with a rubber band around their waist held by a resistant team-mate behind them, Chiesa attempted to get underway before any of his colleagues had even got their own bands over their heads.In an amusing juxtaposition, fellow forward Hugo Ekitike was seen playfully whipping Alexis Mac Allister with his own rubber band as Chiesa first started sprinting, held back by Szoboszlai, behind him.You wonder how many of the Frenchman’s team-mates and coaches would have liked to have been the ones doing the whipping following Ekitike’s red card after removing his shirt in last week’s 2-1 victory over Southampton!Ekitike is likely to return to the Liverpool starting XI against Galatasaray, after Alexander Isak completed 84 minutes in his fellow forward’s enforced absence for the Reds’ 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday.But Chiesa will be left waiting for his next opportunity after being left out of a European squad once more. Not for the first time, he has inadvertently made headlines without being on the pitch.The 27-year-old is already a European champion, albeit with his country rather than club having won EURO 2020 with Italy, and boasts an impressive individual record in the Champions League too, with six goals and three assists from 16 appearances.But he has never progressed further than the last 16, and only ever featured twice in the knockout stages.Chiesa will inevitably look to address both records this season as he looks to come in from the Liverpool cold, with his most recent absence the latest twist in his Anfield career.Slot had admitted the forward was deserving of more opportunities following his impressive showing against Southampton last week.Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL packageThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it.

“[After the injury to Leoni] we would have brought him in the Champions League squad, but if he didn't do as well as he did [against Southampton] we would probably not look at him as if he gets more playing time."But he did so well that it normally leads to a bit more playing time if you can keep producing in training sessions and in the moments we bring him in.“Again an example of a player that hardly played last season and the amount of players that from [a high] level all the way [down] because they don't have a perspective on playing time or development, but he showed the mentality to go up."Now he's getting more minutes and where that leads to depends also on how others are doing.”Chiesa’s place in the Liverpool pecking order is clear despite his encouraging start to the season, with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Isak and Ekitike clearly ahead of him in the pecking order. But you can’t fault his determination to make an impact at Anfield.“It was really difficult but I don’t think I was at the level the coach wanted me to play,” he admitted following his man-of-the-match performance against Southampton.