Liverpool star will surely be furious with Arne Slot after Champions League announcement
Arne Slot’s latest decision regarding his Champions League squad will have left one Liverpool player fuming following a surprise snub.
Liverpool fell to their first league defeat of the season over the weekend as Eddie Nketiah’s added-time strike saw Crystal Palace beat them 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
Arne Slot‘s side had made a habit of scoring late goals to rescue points in the first few matches of 2025-26, and thought they had done it again when Federico Chiesa netted in the 87th minute to make it 1-1.
Their loss was confirmed 10 minutes later, though, and they now head to the continent aiming to put it behind them as they take on Galatasaray in the Champions League group phase on Tuesday (30 September).
Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 in their first UCL game of the campaign two weeks ago, and even though Slot has made a change to his squad for the competition leading up to this clash, he has made another big decision that will anger a certain player and many of the club’s fans.
Federico Chiesa not in Liverpool’s travelling squad to Galatasaray
Chiesa scored only the second Premier League goal of his Liverpool career at Selhurst Park on Saturday (27 September) as he was first to react to a poor Chris Richards clearance to lash the ball past Dean Henderson for 1-1.
His efforts to rescue a point for his side eventually proved to be in vain, but Chiesa really impressed against Crystal Palace and did a lot more than any other Reds attackers on the day, including £115million man Florian Wirtz.
He struggled for game-time upon his arrival on Merseyside last season, and former scout Mick Brown revealed to Football Insider in June that Liverpool were planning to accept offers for Chiesa in the summer after a disappointing first term at the club, with Slot content to see him depart.
| Appearances | 6 |
| Starts | 1 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 2 |
He remained at the club throughout the window, however, and scored a huge goal in the Reds’ season-opener against Bournemouth last month, but then only featured fleetingly off the bench in three of their next four league outings.
Chiesa then hugely impressed against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last week, and another development from that game worked in his favour as Giovanni Leoni went off with what was later confirmed as a serious ACL injury.
Leoni was taken out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad and replaced by Chiesa, after the forward had initially been left out, but he has now not even been included in their travelling squad to go to Galatasaray, in a surprise move by Slot considering his recent form.
Chiesa will undoubtedly be angry with his manager’s latest snub, with him being Liverpool’s best player over the last two games and performing to a much higher standard than the likes of Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha.
It is clear that he deserved a place in the squad to go to Turkey after his recent showings, yet Slot has again made it clear that he does not trust him for whatever reason, and the Italy international may well be regretting his decision to stay at Liverpool this season.
Chiesa may regret staying at Liverpool
His latest potential chance to impress from the off against the Saints felt like a complete make-or-break for his Anfield career, especially after Football Insider recently revealed that Chiesa could be on his way out of Liverpool in January with opportunities set to be at a premium.
Chiesa impressed in that game against Championship opposition, then came up with the goods against Palace, yet Slot clearly still does not fancy him with journalist James Pearce confirming that his UCL absence is a selection decision and nothing to do with injury.
Serie A champions Napoli were reported to be interested in him during the summer [Corriere dello Sport], so it is not as if he will be short of suitors from his home country in January.
Chiesa was once a key man for his national side, being named in the Team of the Tournament after their success at Euro 2020, but his lack of game-time at Liverpool has meant he is now out of the picture with the World Cup looming.
Not only has been snubbed by Slot, but new Italy head-coach Gennaro Gattuso also decided against naming him in his squad for the Azzurri’s World Cup qualifiers this month.
He may well regret not sealing a move back there over the recent window, but January could provide him an opportunity to leave if he continues to be overlooked by Slot while playing well when he is given the chance to play from the bench.