Federico Chiesa replaces injured Giovanni Leoni in the Reds’ UCL squad

Liverpool have confirmed Federico Chiesa’s inclusion in their 22-man UEFA Champions League ‘league phase’ squad after new signing Giovanni Leoni suffered a long-term injury.

Federico Chiesa joined Liverpool in the summer of 2024 and since then has had a slow start settling at Anfield.

He has been struggling to secure playing time under Arne Slot due to fitness issues and fierce competition from other attacking players, making only 14 appearances for Liverpool last season.

The Italian winger was left out of the Reds’ UCL “league phase” squad earlier this month due to him being behind in the champions’ attacking pecking order.

The 27-year-old was professional about his exclusion from the squad and confirmed he did not argue.

He said, per The Athletic: “He told me what he was thinking and why he chose to do what he did.

“Of course I was sorry that I am not part of the Champions League squad, as to play in it is every player’s dream. I just said to the coach, ‘Okay — no problem. I will keep working hard, and I will get my chances in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League.’ I am a professional player; I play for Liverpool, and to do that is amazing.”

Liverpool boss Slot confirmed the news in his pre-match press conference today, saying, “Yeah, we’ve looked into this.”

“I cannot tell you exactly where that process is at the moment. That is not something I do myself; there are other people doing this.

“But if I’m informed correctly, if a player has a longer than two-month injury, you are able to replace him. That’s what they’ve told me, and now we have to see if it’s true or not, but other people are looking into that.”

The Reds travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray at Rams Park on Tuesday night in their next Champions League outing.