Federico Chiesa has opened up about the frustration of his stop-start Liverpool career but insists, with conviction, that \u201cthis season is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
The forward revealed how his disappointment at playing a bit-part role since joining from Juventus \u2014 only featuring 14 times in all competitions last campaign \u2014 and the pain at missing out on this season\u2019s Champions League squad, has given him the fuel to fight back despite increased competition.<\/p>\n
Chiesa is behind the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Mo Salah in the pecking order but says he\u2019s determined to prove his worth and contribute more often this season.<\/p>\n
In Tuesday\u2019s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton, the 27-year-old provided the assists for both goals and was named man-of-the-match in what his best performance in a Liverpool shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel much better in terms of physical ability and I have played more this year than last year combined, so I\u2019m happy and I have to continue on this path,\u201d he said after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really difficult (not playing last season) but I don\u2019t think I was at the level the coach wanted me to play. I understood his choices. This year, it is different. I feel better physically and mentally. The coach has seen this and given me more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach Arne Slot has turned to Chiesa as a late substitute in four of the first five Premier League games, but did not include him in the squad for the 2-1 win over Everton last weekend.<\/p>\n
The Italian was also the only senior player not to make the 22-man Champions League squad as 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha was chosen instead.<\/p>\n
Asked how he was delivered the news, Chiesa said: \u201cHe told me what he was thinking and why he chose to do what he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I was sorry that I am not part of the Champions League squad, as to play in it is every player\u2019s dream. I just said to the coach \u2018okay \u2014 no problem. I will keep working hard and I will get my chances in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League.\u2019 I am a professional player, I play for Liverpool and to do that is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fight that he showed at Anfield last night was appreciated by both the supporters and Slot, who name-checked him after the game as the \u201chardest worker\u201d.<\/p>\n
Chiesa says the backing from the stands \u2014 and hearing his name chanted every matchday \u2014 has been a constant source of inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear the song the supporters sing for me since last year and I\u2019ve been feeling that. I like the chant!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to give them something back. I\u2019m glad that I have made some contributions in the Premier League. If you play for Liverpool, you have to be able to make a difference, but I want to keep on doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI play for a top club, maybe one of the top three in the world. It\u2019s Liverpool and the competition is high.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I don\u2019t want competition, I go to another team. But I want the competition, I want to play here and I think, at the end of the day, competition helps you to become a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Hugo Ekitike suspended for the trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday following his sending off last night, Chiesa may get another chance to feature.<\/p>\n
(Photo: Jan Kruger\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federico Chiesa has opened up about the frustration of his stop-start Liverpool career but insists, with conviction, that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,1417,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-166450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-liverpool","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}