Welcome to Federico Chiesa's Redemption Season

LIVERPOOL, WEDNESDAY — Federico Chiesa is gradually proving that his abilities are far from exhausted. Although he has not yet been able to elevate himself to a starting player, the Italian winger is beginning to deliver decisive performances for Liverpool. The English League Cup presents an opportunity for Chiesa's resurgence.

Chiesa was named the best player in Liverpool's opening match of the 2024-2025 English League Cup. "The Reds" defeated Championship Division team Southampton 2-1 in the third round, on Wednesday (24/9/2025) early morning WIB, at Anfield Stadium.

The 27-year-old forward was behind two goals for Liverpool scored by Alexander Isak (43’) and Hugo Ekitike (85’). He provided assists for both goals, continuing the progress of Arne Slot's team in the third tier of English competition.

In the creation of the first goal, he showcased a strong work ethic by being willing to chase the ball controlled by the opponent. He successfully seized the ball in the Southampton penalty area and then served Isak, who was unmarked in front of the opponent's goal.

Likewise, when he created the second goal, Chiesa showed that the pace that has become his trademark since breaking into the Fiorentina first team hasn't faded. He beat the offside trap to receive Andrew Robertson's long pass before delivering a perfect pass that Ekitike converted.

It was Chiesa's first match in which he recorded a brace of assists. In his professional career, Chiesa had to wait almost five years to register two assists in a single match.

The last time he created two assists was in the match between Juventus and Spezia on November 1, 2020. At that time, Chiesa provided passes to serve Adrien Rabiot and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot was not surprised by Chiesa's performance, which helped his team continue their journey in this season's English League Cup. He stated that Chiesa displayed an individual performance that gives hope for the Reds to perform better in the competition.

"For me, Chiesa's performance is not a coincidence. He can provide assists because, in my opinion, he is the player most involved in the game, trying harder, and working the hardest in the match," said Slot as reported on the club's website.

The praise from the Dutch coach for Chiesa resulted in the trust to play for 90 minutes. Since joining Liverpool from Juve last summer, Chiesa has only played three full matches.

Each of these matches was presented once in the Champions League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup. His last opportunity to play from kickoff to the final whistle occurred when Liverpool was eliminated by Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup 2024-2025, on February 9.

At the start of this season, Chiesa's role has been predominantly a cameo. He has appeared in five matches, totaling 137 minutes. This means Chiesa has only had the opportunity to break a sweat for an average of 27 minutes per match.

The duration of play is still lower compared to 33 minutes per game in 14 matches last season, but Chiesa has a great opportunity to contribute more significantly to the goal tally. The two goals and two assists he produced in the 2024-2025 competition campaign have the potential to be improved. He has already been involved in three goals for Liverpool this season, consisting of one goal and two assists.

"I want all players to understand the importance of every minute they get to play. I want them to be ready to play whenever needed, as I want us to gain as many playing minutes as possible across all competitions," said Slot.

Last season, Slot was very disappointed with Liverpool's failure to progress far in the FA Cup. This situation reduced his opportunities to regularly provide playing time for the backup players, one of whom is Chiesa.

World-class forwards from Liverpool helped Chiesa rediscover his best form, which he had displayed during the period from 2019 to 2021. Chiesa was an important player for Fiorentina and Juventus during those two seasons.

The son of legendary Italian striker Enrico Chiesa concluded his tenure with Fiorentina by scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists in 37 games during the 2019-2020 season. He continued his impressive performance in his first year representing Juventus in the 2020-2021 edition. Under the guidance of Andrea Pirlo, Chiesa produced 15 goals and 12 assists for "La Vecchia Signora."

However, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the 2021-2022 season kept Chiesa away from his best performance. The match against Southampton proved that his potential for maximum impact could return.

Aside from two assists, Chiesa is a creative player who generates opportunities. Four significant chances for Liverpool in the penalty area of Southampton were created by Chiesa.

Chiesal also produced two successful take-ons, or dribbles. Three shots, one of which was on target, showed his instincts are slowly returning under Slot's tutelage.

The player, born in Genoa, Italy, was also able to win five duels. His defensive actions are commendable as he made two interceptions, one successful tackle, and blocked an opponent's shot once.

Italian national team coach Gennaro Gattuso is also awaiting Chiesa's best performance. "He needs match after match to get back to his best form. We're waiting for him to be 100 percent ready," Gattuso said of Chiesa's potential return to the national team, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.