Federico Chiesa made his first appearance of the 2026-27 season as a late substitute in Liverpool’s 3-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
The former Juventus forward had missed every competitive match for Liverpool before the international break because of a muscular injury. The problem had prevented him from competing for a place under manager Andoni Iraola.
Chiesa’s absence also ruled him out of consideration for Italy. National team head coach Roberto Mancini selected a 34-player squad for his first camp back in charge of the Azzurri in September, but Chiesa was not included.
Liverpool faced Manchester City with several important attacking players unavailable because of injury. Their three leading centre-forward options – Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo – were all missing for the highly anticipated fixture.
That led Iraola to give 21-year-old academy graduate Lewis Koumas his first Premier League start in the central striking role. Bradley Barcola and Victor Munoz supported him from the wings.
Chiesa began the game among the substitutes and was introduced in the 87th minute, replacing Barcola.
The appearance was Chiesa’s first in a competitive match since Liverpool’s 4-2 defeat away to Aston Villa in May, during the penultimate round of the 2025-26 Premier League season. He had also played several times for Liverpool during pre-season.
The defeat left Liverpool beaten 3-0 by Manchester City in their latest Premier League meeting, while Chiesa’s brief involvement marked his return to competitive football after his injury.
Peter Young is a Senior Reporter with Football Italia.
