Arne Slot sends Federico Chiesa message after Liverpool start - 'more than I could expect'

Federico Chiesa made his first Premier League start of the season in Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Brighton

Arne Slot defended the performance of Federico Chiesa after the Italian started his first league game of the season in the penultimate Premier League fixture of the season at Brighton & Hove Albion. Liverpool lost the match 3-2, with Chiesa struggling to make an impact before being substituted for Darwin Nunez in the 63rd minute.

It has been a disappointing season for the 27-year-old, who was Liverpool's only signing of last summer when he completed a £12.5m switch from Juventus.

He's scored just twice for the Reds, against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup and a late consolation in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle, struggling with his fitness in the first half of the campaign and then to break into Liverpool's matchday squad in the latter half of the season.

But Slot was encouraged by what he saw from the Italian, praising his impact on the match after a long time on the sidelines.

He said: "I think the biggest quality Federico has is scoring goals, so the more you get him in and around the box, the more chance you have of him scoring a goal.

"He got a good chance just before Mo (Salah) had his big chance, Mo assisted for Federico. For him to have an open shot in 18-yard-box is a very good chance for Federico because he's such a good finisher.

He added: "I think he did even more than I can expect from him, because if you haven't played throughout the whole season, hardly ever start and then play Brighton away, a very good team who can bring Kaoru Mitoma on minutes before the end, that tells you everything about this league.

"For him to be out for so long and then play a game like this is more than I could expect from him."