Arne Slot Told He Must Start Liverpool Star Following Crystal Palace Performance

Several Liverpool supporters took to social media to praise a certain player after watching his first-half performance against Crystal Palace.

Liverpool faced Oliver Glasner’s Palace side, who previously defeated the Reds in the Community Shield and Premier League earlier this season, in the Carabao Cup fourth round at Anfield on Wednesday.

And as expected, head coach Arne Slot made ten changes with Andrew Robertson captaining the side while Freddie Woodman and Kieran Morrison were both handed their Liverpool debuts by the Dutchman.

Left-back Milos Kerkez was the only player to retain his place from the weekend defeat away against Brentford.

Speaking ahead of the game, Slot gave his reasons for the changes and was keen to stress that the competition was ideal to “create a pathway” for young players, while the “other reason” was due to the Premier League champions having “four or five injuries”.

Arne Slot made ten changes (Credit:Getty)

Usual starter Alexis Mac Allister also returned to the starting XI alongside Trey Nyoni and Wataru Endo.

And despite many starlets being on show – including highly-rated prospect Rio Ngumoha – it was another Liverpool winger who really impressed the Anfield faithful despite the Reds trailing 2-0, thanks to Ismaila Sarr’s brace, at half-time.

Fans on social media were quick to praise Federico Chiesa for his energetic showing on Wednesday evening with some calling for him to start more often.

Federico Chiesa in action for Liverpool (Credit:Getty)

One fan said: “And the boss won’t start him after this beautiful performance so far.”

Another added: “I'd go to war with him knowing I’m fully covered.”

A third claimed: “Chiesa is on a mission to win this game on his own. What a player.”

While a fourth commented: “Nothing will ever make me not love Chiesa.”

Chiesa, 28, who joined Liverpool from Juventus in the summer of 2024, played just six times in the Premier League during the side’s title-winning 2024/25 campaign but is quickly becoming a fan favourite on Merseyside due to his relentless running and willingness to prove he belongs at the club.

Speaking earlier this week, the Italy international explained that the reasons he didn’t play as much as expected last term were because he “wasn’t fit enough” or “mentally ready” before maintaining that playing well and ultimately impressing Slot was now his main goal moving forward.