Alisson Becker has hailed one of his Liverpool team-mates as a “special player” who “always makes a difference” whenever he’s on the pitch.
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Although Federico Chiesa has more than doubled his appearances for the Reds this season compared to last season, he will still mainly play a substitute role in 2025/26, making just five starts in all competitions (four of which were in domestic cup competitions).
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Over the weekend of the Oscars, a series of Premier League players took part in a video on the top flight’s official YouTube channel, in which they were asked to nominate teammates in specific categories.
Alisson hails Chiesa as a ‘special player’
When it came time to select a Liverpool player for the hypothetical Best Supporting Actor award, Alisson gave the Italian striker his stamp of approval, saying: “A special player in our team is Federico Chiesa, who has given me a lot of support and helped me go further.
“Even when he’s not playing, he brings energy to the team, but when he’s on, no matter what he needs to do, he always makes a difference. He’s a winner at that.”
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Rare: Chiesa is a consummate professional
The term “fan hero” was coined to describe players like Chiesa who never seemed to be the most visible star in their team, but who were clearly 100 per cent committed to the cause and beloved by the fans for it.
The 28-year-old has seemingly been permanently linked with a move away from Liverpool due to his lack of game time, and it would be understandable if he was keen to start over elsewhere as he has not played more than 15 minutes in any Premier League game since late December.
However, Anfield admits privately that the Italian striker is a consummate professional who never complains about his limited use and that the value of such a “team player” should never be lightly dismissed.
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With Mo Salah having his least productive season yet for the Reds, Chiesa would be forgiven if he felt aggrieved that he wasn’t playing more games. But, as Alisson said, our No. 14 is happy to do his bit for the greater good even when he’s not on the pitch.
You can watch the full video of Slot’s Tottenham Hotspur pre-match press conference below: Kop Empire on YouTube:
