Federico Chiesa is set for a Premier League recall while Arne Slot gives an update on the condition of Alexis Mac Allister ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Crystal Palace
Federico Chiesa impressed Arne Slot in midweek and will return to the Liverpool Premier League matchday squad against Crystal Palace(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
If Federico Chiesa is a testament to the old maxim of hard work bringing luck, there can at least be an acceptance that the Liverpool man has benefitted from a stroke of fortune this week. Had Hugo Ekitike not foolishly opted to remove his shirt in celebration when already on a booking against Southampton in the Carabao Cup, then Chiesa might once more find his nose pressed to the glass when the Premier League champions travel to Crystal Palace this weekend.
But having been left out of last week’s match-day squad for the 2-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby, Chiesa is now expected to feature for Arne Slot’s team at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, deputising for Hugo Ekitike while the Frenchman learns the error of his ways.
The ACL tear for Giovanni Leoni in the same game has also opened the door for Chiesa to return to the fold in the Champions League, with the Italian set to travel to Turkey on Monday in place of his teenage compatriot ahead of Tuesday’s game at Galatasaray.
READ MORE: Arne Slot addresses Marc Guehi Liverpool transfer question after Giovanni Leoni injuryREAD MORE: Arne Slot explains how Liverpool ‘disciplined’ Hugo Ekitike and confirms Federico Chiesa decision
Ekitike’s suspension and Leoni’s own rotten luck means a door has opened on two fronts for the 27-year-old, who candidly revealed this week his desperation to prove he can make the grade long term at Anfield.
Two assists against the Saints on Tuesday was an ideal reminder of his qualities but a tougher test now lies in wait, with the former Juventus man set for minutes off the bench in place of Alexander Isak in south London.
“You guys are maybe getting a bit bored when I say it, but you only get luck if you work hard,” Slot says of Chiesa’s new-found opportunities.
“[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. But again an example that, if he had been the 25th player, then there was no perspective and he would have gone [down]. He was last season part of a squad of 20/21 players with Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha.”
Slot also provided an update on Alexis Mac Allister, adding: “He doesn’t have to recover from last season, we need to build him after having such a poor pre-season, he missed out two or three months and the first few weeks of pre-season.
“That is also an example like Alex (Isak) where we try to manage his minutes to get him fit for the long term, not for the moment. That is maybe the difference between being a manager of a club to being a manager of a national team, where you make maybe different choices.
“I don’t know, I’ve never managed a national team. We are definitely looking at him in a way that we try to prepare him for three games a week because that is eventually where he needs to go to, like Alex.
“To be fair, we were all expecting him to start the first day of pre-season, that’s why we took him out in the end [of the season], to have him ready for the first day of pre-season.
“But it took him a bit longer, which sometimes happens with injuries. As a result of that, we say in Holland he walks behind the music, you say he’s playing catch-up.”