What Chiesa’s Champions League snub means for his Liverpool future

Twice in their helter-skelter start to the Premier League season, Liverpool have been bailed out at the death by late substitutes, first Federico Chiesa and then Rio Ngumoha.

Yet only one of those match-winners has been included in Arne Slot’s 22-man squad for the initial phase of the Champions League, with potentially profound implications for the future of both men.

Chiesa, the Italian forward who has become a cult hero on the Kop, is entitled to feel aggrieved by his omission. Injuries and lack of opportunity have blighted the 27-year-old’s progress at Liverpool since a £12m move from Juventus last summer, and he started just one Premier League match last season, with his most memorable contribution coming in the form of a late consolation goal against Newcastle in the League Cup final. 

A corner turned – or a false dawn?

But when the Italy international came off the bench against Bournemouth on the opening day to restore a lead that Liverpool looked to have frittered away, there was a palpable sense that a corner had been turned. Nothing cements a player’s place in the collective hearts of the Anfield faithful quite like a late winner, and when Chiesa’s incisive volley found the net with two minutes remaining, averting the ignominy of a draw after Liverpool had been two goals up, he ensured his name would be remembered in years to come. 

Perhaps not in the same breath as the likes of Gary McAllister, Sadio Mane and Divoch Origi, all of whom conjured dramatic late strikes against Everton, but certainly alongside Neil Mellor, Yossi Benayoun and Adam Lallana, respectively the architects of famous last-gasp winners against Arsenal, Fulham and Norwich.

Chiesa’s goal promised to establish a new place in the pecking order – not ahead of first-team regulars like Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, certainly, but perhaps in front of the since-departed Harvey Elliott and the emerging teenager Rio Ngumoha. For a player linked with a summer move to Napoli, Inter and Celtic, to name but a few, it was a breakthrough moment, one that appeared to herald a new beginning.

That feeling intensified when Slot again turned to Chiesa first the following week at Newcastle, where the Italian was brought on as a late replacement for Hugo Ekitike as Elliott and Ngumoha remained on the bench. Instead, the 20 minutes that followed appear to have redefined both Slot’s thinking and Chiesa’s standing. 

How Rio Ngumoha’s goal against Newcastle influenced Arne Slot’s thinking

Ngumoha, introduced deep into stoppage time, swept home a first-time shot to give Liverpool a dramatic late win in a game they had again looked likely to draw after blowing a two-goal lead, and in the process became the youngest goalscorer in club history at 16 years and 361 days. It was another telling contribution from a player who forced his way into the first-team reckoning with some eye-catching performances in pre-season, and it would appear it has redrawn Slot’s perspective.

It should be acknowledged that the Dutchman’s hands were tied by UEFA rules that stipulate only 17 non-homegrown players can be included in the 25-man squad for the league phase of the Champions League. The other eight places must be occupied by homegrown or locally-trained players; Ngumoha, who joined the club last year from Chelsea, does not qualify.

It left Slot with a straight choice between Chiesa and Ngumoha, with the 17-year-old’s  inclusion offering further affirmation of Slot’s growing faith in him. For Chiesa, however, the manager’s decision marks another demoralising setback, one that will surely not go unnoticed when the transfer window reopens in January.