Chiesa earns first minutes of 2026-27 season for Liverpool in 3-0 Man City defeat
Quick summary
Federico Chiesa made his first appearance of the 2026-27 season for Liverpool in their 3-0 victory over Manchester City.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceFederico Chiesa earned his first minutes of the 2026-27 season as a late substitute in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat away at home against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Chiesa gets first appearance of 2026-27 season The former Juventus forward had not featured in any competition for Liverpool prior to the international break owing to a muscular injury that has prohibited him from fighting for his place under Andoni Iraola .
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Federico Chiesa of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St James’ Park on August 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) This also prevented Chiesa from being considered for selection by Italy national team head coach Roberto Mancini, who named a bumper squad of 34 players on his first camp back in charge of the Azzurri in September.
Liverpool had several key attacking players unavailable through injury for their highly-anticipated clash against Enzo Maresca’s Man City, including their three first-choice options at centre-forward in Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo.
This led to Iraola handing a first Premier League start to 21-year-old academy product Lewis Koumas at centre-forward with support from Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz from the wings. Chiesa started amongst the substitutes and was brought on in the 87th minute for Barcola.
This was Chiesa’s first competitive outing since Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat away against Aston Villa back in May, in the penultimate round of 2025-26 Premier League fixtures. He had featured for Liverpool on several occasions during pre-season as well.
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What happened
Federico Chiesa, the Italian forward, featured for Liverpool for the first time in the 2026-27 campaign as the Reds handed Manchester City a heavy 3-0 defeat. The minutes mark a potential turning point for Chiesa's role at Anfield after a limited previous season. The result itself is a major statement win for Liverpool, while raising further questions about Manchester City's form in the early part of the season.
Chance analysis
Liverpool's 3-0 dismantling of Manchester City is the kind of result that resets the tone of a title race, and the sight of Federico Chiesa on the pitch adds a layer of intrigue. After a stop-start debut campaign at Anfield, the Italian winger finally getting meaningful minutes in a marquee fixture suggests Arne Slot is prepared to give him a real role this season. For City, conceding three at this stage of the campaign is the kind of performance that will sharpen the focus on Pep Guardiola's setup and squad balance heading into the next block of fixtures.
Liverpool gain attacking depth and a major confidence boost from a statement 3-0 win over City, while Chiesa's return adds a previously unavailable option to the squad.