InterviewFederico Chiesa reaction: First 90 minutes, proving himself and life at Liverpool
Federico Chiesa was satisfied and thankful to have played his first full match for Liverpool against PSV Eindhoven.
The Italy forward started and finished Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat at Philips Stadium and won the penalty from which the Reds took a first-half lead through Cody Gakpo.
The hosts would go on to win the game, though Arne Slot’s side still ended the league phase of the competition in first place. A last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest now awaits in March.
When asked about the importance of getting his first 90-minute runout of the campaign, Chiesa told Liverpoolfc.com: “Yeah, I have to thank the coach and the staff for giving me the possibility to play the 90 minutes tonight. For me it was great because I needed it.
“I needed it for everything and since I joined Liverpool I wanted to prove myself and I couldn’t for many reasons, and tonight getting 90 minutes after a big while, it was great. So, I have to thank the coach.
“I mean, there is room for improvement. There is room to get better and better and be at the best of my game but we have a great team and it’s hard to play.
“But that’s normal because I want to be here, I want to play for Liverpool, I want to challenge myself and I will be ready for my next opportunity. Again, I want to thank the coach for tonight.”
The No.14, who joined the club from Juventus last summer, went on to elaborate on how much he is enjoying life as a Liverpool player.
He continued: “I’m playing with great players, I’m in a great team. We are so focused on every competition, we want to challenge for the title, for the Champions League, for the Carabao Cup, for the FA Cup.
“There is a great atmosphere and I enjoy myself here. Of course I didn’t get the chance to play for many reasons but this was my first 90 minutes for a while so I’m just happy tonight.
“I am just focused on that and nothing [else] but I am enjoying being at the club because Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the fanbase is just amazing, and playing at Anfield gives me shivers.”
The Reds’ tally of 21 points from their eight fixtures proved sufficient to finish top of the Champions League league phase and Chiesa stated: “Now we look forward to the next round and we will see who we get.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the win [over PSV] and I think in the last five minutes of the first half we should have been a bit more, let’s say, mature to be able to get the result like 2-1 at half-time and then be able to play another type of game.
“I think we didn’t deserve to be down [behind] before half-time but unfortunately it was like that. But at the end of the day we finished first in the Champions League group stage so it is a great feeling.”
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