"Free my boy", "Absolutely robbed once again" - Fans react as Liverpool star left out of XI for Chelsea clash

A section of Liverpool fans are unhappy with Arne Slot’s decision not to include Federico Chiesa in the starting XI for their Premier League match against Chelsea. The two sides are set to face off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, May 4.

Chiesa, who joined Liverpool from Juventus last summer, has found game time hard to come by at the Merseyside club. The Italian winger has made just 12 appearances across competitions, with four in the Premier League. He has yet to start a league match for Liverpool this season.

Meanwhile, the Reds have been confirmed as 2024-25 Premier League Champions after they walloped Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield last Sunday. As it stands, Arne Slot’s side have nothing to lose. They can now enjoy the remainder of the season before they’re presented the Premier League trophy after the match against Crystal Palace on May 25.

The starting lineup for the Chelsea vs Liverpool match has been released, and Chiesa’s lack of game time has persisted as he was named on the bench.

The decision to leave the former Juventus man out of the starting XI didn’t sit well with some Liverpool fans. They expressed their displeasure about it on social media.

An X user wrote:

''No chiesa again free my boy 💔''

Another tweeted:

''Chiesa absolutely robbed once again!''

''Why not let Chiesa play so he can get the winners medal?,'' @GongR1ght queried.

So no start for Chiesa even when we re not really fighting for anything else rn? Has he done something to p!ss slot off or something. Just dont understand at this point,'' @mafia3O wrote.

''Chiesa doesnt deserve this 😞,'' @lfctrent66__ chimed in.

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Arne Slot make six changes ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Chelsea

Arne Slot fielded a rotated lineup for his side’s league match with Chelsea, including six players who didn't start against with Tottenham. The six players include Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas, and Jarell Quansah.

In the pre-match press conference, Slot revealed that he would be rotating his squad for the remaining games of the season. He said:

“We are going into these four games trying to win them all, of course,” he said. “That’s what we always want, that’s what every player that wears the Liverpool shirt should aim for: winning their game of football.

“I would judge us more on the amount of points we have now compared to teams that won it in the past four games before the end, because there’s definitely a difference if we now were still competing than the games we play now. Because my line-ups will be different towards the one we’ve had mostly during the last 10 months.

“We are not going to change everyone but there will be a few players that come into the team, there will be certain rotation in the upcoming games. That’s not to say we are going to lose them – we have a lot of trust in the players we are going to play now as well – but I think it would be more honest to judge us on the points total we have now compared to the ones that have won the league in the past where they still had to fight until the end.

“And I think if I’m correct that we are on the same amount of points as many other teams that won the league recently four games before the end.”

With four games left, Liverpool are on 82 points while Chelsea have 60 points.