Federico Chiesa Praised by Liverpool Fans for Gesture After Full-Time Whistle

Federico Chiesa has been praised by Liverpool fans after they spotted what he did immediately after the Carabao Cup win over Southampton.

For the fifth time this season, Liverpool waited until late in the match to secure a victory during their clash with Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

After Alexander Isak's first goal for his new club gave the hosts a lead in the match, Northern Ireland's Shea Charles pulled one back late in the second half, only for Liverpool to re-establish their lead thanks to an 85th minute goal from Hugo Ekitike.

Although the Frenchman was the man that ultimately found the back of the net, Liverpool boss Arne Slot later thanked teammate Chiesa for creating the goal.

But Slot wasn't the only person speaking out about the Italian immediately after the match, as fans took to social media to praise him for his behaviour as soon as the final whistle was blown.

As is often the case in football matches involving big teams, several of Southampton players on the pitch at Anfield on Wednesday night asked one of their opponents to swap shirts.

Among those asking for a Liverpool shirt to remember the game was Tom Fellows, who asked Chiesa if he could take his shirt as a memento, with Chiesa immediately obliging and handing the Englishman his shirt.

However, as Fellows began to walk away with Chiesa's shirt in hand, the Liverpool forward surprised him by stopping him and asking to be given Fellows' shirt in return, clearly making the Southampton star even happier.

Reacting to a clip of the moment, one Liverpool fan wrote: "Chiesa is on a different level. He is a great professional, carries his role with pride & dignity, humble, a team player & his skills are exceptional. More than an asset & an all-round good guy."

With another writing: "Goddamn it just when you think you can love him more…so happy he stayed."

Even a Manchester United fan praised Chiesa's actions, writing: "What it’s all about. Bless him."

What did Arne Slot say about Federico Chiesa after the Carabao Cup match?

Tuesday's match against Southampton saw Slot hand Chiesa a rare start, with the match being only his fifth appearance of the season having been controversially left out of the Champions League squad.

But it's safe to say that Liverpool fans can expect to see more of the Italian in the near future as he provided the assist for both goals during the game, causing Slot to give him plenty of praise post-match.

Speaking in a press conference, the Liverpool boss said: "What I always want to see is players that try and work hard.

"For me it is completely not a coincidence that Federico picked the ball and assisted on the first [goal] because he was the one, in my opinion, that was most involved in the game, tried the most, worked the hardest."

Earlier in the press conference Slot also criticised Ekitike, who was sent off following his goal after receiving a second yellow card for taking his shirt off, for not crediting Chiesa for creating the winning goal.

He added: "If I would have scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to, in this situation, Federico Chiesa and said, ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me.’