Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle on Sunday and Federico Chiesa has received a large portion of the criticism after a lacklustre display in attack for the Reds.
Chiesa finally joined Liverpool in the summer after being linked with them for years but it has not turned out to be the dream transfer many had envisioned since he won the 2020 Euros with Italy.
The Reds signed Chiesa for just £12.5m ahead of Barcelona and clubs from the Saudi Pro League but a mixture of injuries and the mercurial form Mohamed Salah has been in have prevented him from finding his groove.
It came to a head on Sunday when Chiesa started the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle. The Italian struggled to make an impact in the game but there is a lot to consider before slamming the winger for his performance.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Nicol launched into a tirade and singled Chiesa out for blame.
“You know the biggest disappointment today? Chiesa,” Nicol began. “I mean I know when they signed him it was a bit of a gamble because he’d been out injured for so long.
“But the pedigree the guy’s got, you would expect at least something from him today.
“Maybe not scoring goals and all of that, but showing yourself on the field and helping the younger guys, showing your experience.
“The guy’s got a European winner’s medal! But he’s been an absolute bust today. If you’re Slot you’ll be lying in bed thinking ‘I hope I don’t need him.’”
Why it’s not fair to judge Federico Chiesa just yet
The winger missed a total of 14 games for Liverpool this season, preventing him from making a smooth start to his time on Merseyside but that’s not even the worst part.
Given both Mohamed Salah’s world-class talent and the fact that the Egyptian winger never seems to get injured, it has been very difficult for Chiesa to make his way into the team.
Granted, Chiesa should be able to perform better against Plkymouth, a team marooned at the foot of the Championship table, but he was not the only player who performed miserably.
It wasn’t him that gave away the penalty either and until Chiesa has had at least 700 minutes of football at Anfield, it seems a bit harsh to pass judgement.
He has had less than just over half of that so far but there are a lot of important games coming up for the Italian to play a part in.
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