Image Credits: Imago Images
Federico Chiesa suffered an injury just minutes before Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Marseille, ruling him out despite being named on the bench by Arne Slot.
The Italy international picked up the problem during the warm-up at the Stade Velodrome, leaving Slot with limited attacking options from his substitutes. Cody Gakpo, along with youngster Rio Ngumoha, were the only forwards available, while Liverpool were left with just eight players on the bench.
By contrast, Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi had 12 substitutes at his disposal, including former Premier League players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Angel Gomes and Matt O’Riley.
Liverpool eased past Marseille to boost their chances of a top-eight finish in the Champions League on a night Mohamed Salah returned to Arne Slot’s starting XI. Dominik Szoboszlai’s moment of brilliance put the Reds ahead just before the break, before goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli’s own goal doubled the lead. Cody Gakpo sealed the 3-0 win in stoppage time.
The victory lifts Liverpool up to fourth in the standings ahead of next week’s visit of Qarabag to Anfield, with the Reds aiming to secure automatic qualification and avoid the play-offs.
Szoboszlai broke the deadlock in first-half injury time by cleverly rolling a free-kick under the Marseille wall and past Rulli. Jeremie Frimpong then used his pace to reach the byline in the 72nd minute, with his cutback deflecting off Rulli and into the net.
Gakpo came off the bench to curl a low finish into the far corner with the final kick of the game, as Liverpool moved into the top eight alongside four other English sides. Chiesa was forced to watch from behind the dugout.
In a post-match press conference, Slot said: “Two or three minutes after you guys left yesterday, he stepped out of the training session. We took him with us because we don’t expect it to be a long-term injury.
“Because we stay here tonight, we are here a bit longer. We thought it was good for him to have his treatment over here and we were hoping that maybe he would have been fit in time. But he wasn’t. He tried in the warm-up and he wasn’t able to play. That’s why he wasn’t on the bench.”
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