For someone who had to wait nearly 100 days for his next competitive start after Italy’s exit at this summer’s European Championships, Federico Chiesa was never going to waste time as set tongues wagging in Liverpool’s 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham United.
Kopites had been afforded a fleeting glimpse of the Italian in recent wins against Bournemouth and AC Milan earlier this month but it was here, at Anfield, where the £10m summer signing from Juventus was assessed for the first time.
Of course, the merits of Liverpool’s sole summer signing were never going to be concluded in a run-of-the-mill cup tie in the final week of September. But judging by the ovation the 26-year-old received as he was replaced by Mohamed Salah just before the hour mark, the Reds’ latest acquisition appears to be a shrewd one.
Chiesa, though, despite being the headline attraction for the first hurdle of Liverpool’s defence of their League Cup crown, was part of the supporting cast as he lined up alongside Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo behind Darwin Nunez.
The Anfield crowd would have been forgiven for assuming the Euro 2020 winner had been assigned a background role as he struggled to truly involve himself in the opening exchanges before Jarell Quansah’s own goal handed the Hammers a shock lead on 21 minutes.
But the young defender’s misfortune acted as a casting call for Chiesa. And just moments later Liverpool had an equaliser from the courtesy of the former Juventus and Fiorentina man’s acrobatics as his side-facing half-volley landed at the head of Jota, who nodded home from close range.
And just moments before half-time as the forward began to find his groove, the highlight reel of this eye-catching debut performance was well and truly being assembled as he schooled Hammers full-back Vladimir Coufal with a textbook nutmeg on the byline.
As the first Italian to start a match for Liverpool since the end of Mario Balotelli’s ill-fated spell at the club in 2015, there were no lofty expectations for Chiesa as he stepped out for his full debut. But judging by the ovation that greeted his departure just before the hour mark, Chiesa will have no worries about treading the same path as his previous countryman at Anfield.
After this display, he won’t have to wait nearly 100 days for his next start. That’s for sure.
