Slot praises work rate of out-of-favour Liverpool forward | OneFootball

Arne Slot has praised the work rate of Federico Chiesa after the Liverpool forward assisted both goals in the club’s 2-1 win over Southampton.

Liverpool progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening after goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike sealed success against the Championship side.

Chiesa was central to both goals, first pressing intently to win possession back in an advanced area and tee up Isak for his first Liverpool goal. After Southampton drew level, Chiesa collected Andy Robertson’s long pass in his path and unselfishly squared for Ekitike to turn home.

The Italian has endured a tough time since arriving at Liverpool in 2024, playing just 151 minutes of Premier League football. He was left out of the Champions League squad this season, but Slot was full of praise for his performance and attitude. Slot singled out Chiesa as the Liverpool player who ‘worked the hardest’ against Southampton.

“I think what you want to see. I can accept completely that a team that plays for the first time together, players that haven’t played for a long time, that they don’t play as a team perfectly.

“But what I always want to see is players that try and work hard. So I said at half-time, for me it is completely not a coincidence that Federico picked the ball and assisted on the first [goal] because he was the one, in my opinion, that was most involved in the game, tried the most, worked the hardest.”

Read – Slot frustrated by ‘stupid’ red card for Liverpool forward Ekitike

See more – Brighton midfielder first player in 18 years to achieve Carabao Cup feat

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