Manuel Locatelli has lauded Federico Chiesa after showing Liverpool what Jurgen Klopp reportedly admires as Juventus beat Chelsea on Wednesday night, via TuttoMercatoWEB.
Chiesa struck home just 10-seconds into the second-half at the Allianz Stadium to seal the win for Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri. But the Italy winger caused Thomas Tuchel’s Blues problems throughout the Champions League group stage affair in Turin.
He came close to putting Juventus ahead on 19-minutes after racing through the visitors, but flashed a shot across goal. The £57k-a-week ace constantly forced Chelsea to retreat whenever he got on the ball in a free-roaming role and led almost every Juve attack.
Chiesa eventually got his goal, riffling home and catching Chelsea cold with one of the first kicks of the second-half. Thrilling on the left, right and through the centre, with his pace and movement too much to handle. And highlighting why Klopp wanted him this summer.
Liverpool explored signing Juventus dynamo Chiesa
Per La Repubblica, Liverpool explored an £86m move for Chiesa, but Juventus had little interest in selling. Klopp believes the Euro 2020 winning forward is ideal for his 4-3-3 system at Anfield. And some Reds supporters are equally as keen to sign the 23-year-old.
Chiesa enthralled Juventus teammate Locatelli with his performance against Chelsea, and the midfielder expects bigger things to come for the winger Klopp wanted at Liverpool.
“The two Fede’s in front [Bernardeschi and Chiesa] have helped us a lot in the dirty work,” Locatelli said. “[Chiesa is] a strong player, with great room for improvement. He can become a phenomenon.”
How’s Chiesa getting on this season?
Wednesday’s clash with Chelsea saw Chiesa make his term debut in the Champions League after missing Juventus’ win over Malmo. He has also started three of their six Serie A games this season, with two further appearances from the bench.
Chiesa opened his domestic account against Spezia last Wednesday to draw the Bianconeri initially level at the Alberto Picco Stadium. Matthijs de Ligt then sealed the win six-minutes later, for Juventus’ first three-points under Allegri since returning to Turin.
The winger Klopp wanted at Liverpool also scored his fourth goal for Italy in the September international break, but Bulgaria pulled level after Chiesa’s 16th-minute strike.
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