Federico Chiesa left out of Liverpool Champions League squad after sharp U-turn | Football | Sport
Federico Chiesa has been left out of Liverpool‘s squad for their Champions League showdown with Galatasaray on Tuesday evening. Despite participating in open training on Monday morning, the Italy international was not included in the 21-man squad confirmed by Liverpool for their second league phase fixture. Chiesa had initially been excluded from Liverpool‘s squad for the first stage of the competition due to an excess of non-homegrown players.
He was eventually registered last week when special dispensation was granted to the Premier League champions following a season-ending injury to Giovanni Leoni. The forward made a significant impact off the bench, scoring a late equaliser in the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and provided two assists in the 2-1 League Cup victory over Southampton four days earlier.
Liverpool have called up Hugo Ekitike after the striker served a one-match domestic suspension at the weekend, with Rio Ngumoha also involved and Freddie Woodman the third of three required goalkeepers.
Teenage midfielder Trey Nyoni is absent and likely to instead play for the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League game against Galatasaray on Tuesday afternoon, while Jayden Danns is missing with a hamstring problem.
The Reds kicked off their Champions League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield, while Turkish champions Galatasaray suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt.
After the final whistle, Slot said: “There was only one team that deserved to win and that was Palace.
“A disappointing first half and disappointing end of the game. Again, once again, credit to Palace. It’s not the first time we lose against them, it tells you how difficult it is for us.
“They deserved to be up two or three goals in the first half. We were lucky that Alisson helped us.”
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