Chiesa Left Out of Liverpool's Champions League Squad
Federico Chiesa’s Liverpool story was supposed to be written under the bright lights of Europe. For now, the spotlight has gone out.
The Italian winger has been omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League squad for the new league phase, a stark call from manager Andoni Iraola that underlines just how brutal competition for places has become at Anfield. Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo has suffered the same fate, both players cut as Iraola finalised his European list.
For Chiesa, it stings twice as much because he has lived this before.
A Familiar Frustration
This is the second successive campaign in which the former Juventus star finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to Europe’s elite competition. Last season he only clawed his way back into the Champions League picture after compatriot Giovanni Leoni suffered a serious long-term injury, opening a registration slot.
Even then, his continental involvement never truly caught fire. Chiesa did make his Liverpool debut off the bench in a Champions League tie in Italy in September 2024, shortly after his £10m initial move, a cameo that seemed like the start of something bigger. Instead, it has proved to be the high point of a European chapter that never quite got going.
Now, with his name missing once again, the sense of a stalled European career at Liverpool is hard to ignore.
Iraola’s Ruthless Call
Iraola’s decision is not a personal verdict on Chiesa alone; it is a reflection of the reality inside a reshaped Liverpool dressing room. The club has undergone significant restructuring, with fresh faces and renewed competition in almost every attacking position. There are only so many spots on a Champions League roster. Someone was always going to be squeezed out.
This time, it is Chiesa and Endo.
Registration rules and squad balance have forced Iraola into hard choices. Liverpool must spread quality and cover across multiple fronts, with domestic campaigns running alongside the Champions League. The message is clear: only those deemed essential for the European run make the cut.
Chiesa, for now, is not in that group.
Domestic Stage or Bust
With the Champions League door closed, at least temporarily, Chiesa’s route back into the conversation runs through England’s domestic grind. Training sessions become his stage. League and cup games, his only real platform to remind Iraola and his staff of what he can bring when fully trusted.
Liverpool face a demanding schedule in the coming months, with fixtures piling up and intensity rising. The calendar eventually builds towards a standout Champions League clash with Inter on January 19, a date that will carry an extra emotional charge for an Italian forward watching from the sidelines.
He will not need reminding that last season, opportunity arrived only when misfortune struck a teammate. If injuries or dips in form hit again, another opening could appear later in the campaign when UEFA registration windows allow changes.
Until then, Chiesa waits, works, and fights to ensure that if the door opens even a fraction, he is ready to burst through it.
