The Ballad of Federico Chiesa's Left Foot

Federico Chiesa is doing everything he can to earn more playing time for Liverpool. Something other than his two assists in midweek suggests he's ready.

Federico Chiesa picked up the first Player of the Match award of his Liverpool career in the Reds’ 2-1 win against Southampton. It was richly deserved.

The problem with assessing his time in England is that he has frequently faced lesser sides in cup competitions. Chiesa has over twice as many minutes against Accrington Stanley as against the Premier League big six. He has made five starts, completing just three games.

Much of what follows has to be viewed in that light. Equally, Fede has rarely had the opportunity to play with Liverpool’s top stars, scratching out performances as part of makeshift sides. Four of the five men with whom he has featured most often are no longer at the club, despite him joining a little over a year ago. For big six read Mohamed Salah, for Accrington Stanley read Harvey Elliott (sorry, Harv).

Fans haven’t included Chiesa when considering the options the club realistically has for their forward positions. Arne Slot’s general reluctance to use the Italian international has made that inevitable. With a match-deciding goal and two assists already this season, is it time for Liverpool to start using the 27-year-old more regularly?

Hugo Ekitike’s brainless red card combined with Alexander Isak’s inability to play a full 90 minutes means Chiesa is likely to get a run out at Selhurst Park on Saturday. His efforts against the Saints mean he deserves one regardless. Hell, this first touch alone merits more playing time.

The former Juve man created four Opta-defined big chances on Tuesday night, an absurd level of creativity no matter the opponent. According to Michael Reid, Football Data Editor for OptaJoe, there have only been “21 instances of a Premier League player creating 4+ big chances in a game” in all competitions. Only Salah - naturally - had previously achieved this for Liverpool, doing so against Sparta Prague in 2024.

How many matches must top flight players have played in the 15-odd years that the big chance metric has existed? Never mind 99th percentile, what Chiesa did last time out must be in the 99.99th. As impressive as that is, another aspect of his performance against Southampton suggests he is fully fit and ready to cook at last.