Liverpool have to brush themselves down quickly and look forward after a bruising defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup.
The Reds had little excuse for a turgid display which dumped them out of the cup in the fourth round at Home Park.It was always going to be a tricky game for Liverpool, so far from home in front of a fervent Plymouth support.
But the task was made even more difficult by the Liverpool squad Arne Slot chose to take down to Devon.
Nevertheless, there should really have been enough quality out on the pitch for the Reds to get the job done against the Pilgrims. In short, Slot’s senior players let him down.One of those who has been front and centre of the criticism has been Federico Chiesa.
And after Chiesa turned in a poor display, former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has added his voice to chorus of boos.
Steve Nicol slams ‘biggest disappointment’ Federico ChiesaChiesa was part of a front three which really should have been good enough to break the Plymouth back line on Sunday.
But along with Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, the Italian never really looked like causing the home team a problem.
We’d argue that at least Chiesa kept on plugging away. Right up until the 99th minute the 27-year-old was pushing and probing, trying to make something happen.
According to Nicol, though, this wasn’t enough. Speaking on ESPN FC, the Liverpool legend insisted that after watching what the former Juventus man served up, Slot will be hoping he doesn’t need to count on him for the rest of the season.
You know the biggest disappointment today? Chiesa,” Nicol bemoaned. “I mean I know when they signed him it was a bit of a gamble because he’d been out injured for so long. But the pedigree the guy’s got, you would expect at least something from him today.
Maybe not scoring goals and all of that, but showing yourself on the field and helping the younger guys, showing your experience.“The guy’s got a European winner’s medal!” Nicol added, incredulously. “But he’s been an absolute bust today.
If you’re Slot you’ll be lying in bed thinking ‘I hope I don’t need him.’”How bad was Chiesa?Nicol is never one to mince his words when it comes to Liverpool and plenty of supporters will reflect that his jibes at Chiesa are fair enough on the back of a poor performance.
Certainly, the statistics don’t paint a pretty picture for the forward. Having attempted 10 dribbles over the course of the game, Chiesa was successful in only one, for example.
Nevertheless, it does seem slightly unfair to throw the No.14 under the bus on what was only his third start for Liverpool.
He was far from the only one under-par at Plymouth and given he had James McConnell and then Isaac Mabaya playing behind him, Chiesa also had little help from his full-back on the day.
In the end, it’s 90 more minutes in the legs of a player who is still getting up to speed. Hopefully the experience will help him have better times moving forward.
