Arne Slot’s treatment of one Liverpool star is really starting to rile a number of supporters. The Reds have endured a poor start to the new season and find themselves in seventh position in the Premier League table, having lost four of their opening nine fixtures. It means that retaining their league title is looking increasingly unlikely.
It’s not just the Premier League that they might struggle to win, with the Merseysiders eliminated from the EFL Cup on Tuesday night after falling to a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Anfield.
Slot made 10 changes to his side for the clash with the Eagles following their 3-2 defeat to Brentford at the weekend, with Milos Kerkez the only first-team regular to play for Liverpool in the cup.
Instead, Slot opted to name predominantly fringe players and up-and-coming talents in his team with Federico Chiesa among the star names involved. While the night didn’t end well for Liverpool, Chiesa certainly made his mark on supporters who are firmly in his corner.
‘Federico Chiesa Has to Start This Weekend’
Chiesa was named in the starting line-up for the EFL Cup clash with Crystal Palace and was clearly keen to make the most of such a rare opportunity. For the Italian winger, it was just his second start of the season so far, having been named in the starting XI to face Southampton in the previous round of the cup.
Despite being largely used as a squad player, Chiesa has scored two goals and provided three assists in just 10 games this term, leading many supporters to question why Slot isn’t giving him a bigger role in the team.
Taking to X, one fan wrote: “Not seen the hunger that Chiesa is showing from any of our players bar Szoboszlai in a long time.” A second fan said: “Watching Chiesa and how has Slot not started him when we’ve lost 5 out of 6,” while a third said: “Chiesa needs to start at the weekend. End of.”
Another supporter really summed up the feeling amongst fans, saying: “Not sure what more Chiesa can do to be starting every week,” while another fan named Carl simply said: “Chiesa is an absolute baller.”
With Liverpool struggling and Chiesa joint-third in the Reds’ goals and assist metrics despite his peripheral role under Slot, there’s no doubting that the Italian deserves an opportunity to play a bigger role under Slot. Whether that materialises or not is another matter entirely.