Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable afternoon in the FA Cup on Saturday, beating Accrington Stanley 4-0.
The Reds had been expected to win easily against their League Two opposition and that’s exactly what they did.
Nevertheless, despite the run-of-the-mill scoreline, Liverpool still had every right to be pleased with themselves on Saturday.
Having seen youngsters like Rio Ngumoha, Jayden Danns, Trey Nyoni and James McConnell impress, there was also a first Liverpool goal for Federico Chiesa.
It was big moment for Chiesa, who had been expected to start for only the second time all season.
But having surprisingly chosen to start 16-year-old Ngumoha instead, Arne Slot explained his decision after the game.
Federico Chiesa only well enough for the bench
Despite his agent publicly declaring that Chiesa is set to stay at Liverpool this January, that has not stopped the rumour mill from spinning.
There have been suggestions that Napoli are keen on Chiesa and the sight of the 27-year-old sat on the bench for Accrington’s visit had supporters wondering whether he could be on the move.
However, Chiesa was excellent when he came on and more than deserved his goal. And speaking in his post-match press conference, Slot said that illness was the only reason Fede had not been in from the start.
“Rio was lucky that Federico wasn’t with us in the last two days because he was sick,” said the Liverpool head coach, with a slight sniffle himself.
“Otherwise, Federico would have started of course. He could play 45, so we could play Dom [Szoboszlai] 45 minutes, then take him out and put Federico in.
“You want to score your first goal in front of your own fans,” added Slot. “That’s what he did now so that’s a good step. Let’s not get carried away too much, though, because in the end it is a League Two team. But it’s definitely a good next step for him to be available and even score a goal.”
Liverpool hit by illness bug
Liverpool appear to have been a little hit by a bug over the past few weeks.
As Slot alluded to, Szoboszlai has only just been deemed well enough to return after missing two matches, while Jarell Quansah has had an issue, too.
Slot himself did also appear to be a little under the weather as he answered questions post games.
With a big game against Nottingham Forest now set to arrive on Tuesday evening, Liverpool fans will be hoping that no one else is struck down by the illness in the meantime.
Ibrahima Konate was removed from Liverpool’s starting XI in the build-up to Saturday’s game, thoughithe reason for this remains to be seen.
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