"Will reach the end of his contract before he gets his second start" - Fans react as Liverpool star left out of XI for Southampton clash

Fans reacted on social media as Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa was left out of their starting lineup to face Southampton. The Reds are in St. Mary's Stadium today (December 18), where they will look to get beyond the Saints in the EFL Cup quarter-final.

The Merseysiders signed Chiesa from Juventus during the summer transfer window, paying just £10 million upfront for the winger. However, he has made just three appearances under head coach Arne Slot this season. Two of those appearances were as a substitute in the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.

However, in his only start of the season in the EFL Cup, he has provided an assist. Fans were expecting to see him play for Liverpool again in the competition, as the Reds look to rest their first-team players. However, Arne Slot has opted for a front-three of Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Harvey Elliot, with Chiesa on the bench.

Some fans are not happy with this decision, and they took to social media platform X to complain with posts like these:

"Chiesa will reach the end of his contract before he gets his second start" a fan was unhappy.

"Chiesa can’t even get a start." another fan was not pleased.

"Why Chiesa not starting first 11" a third fan asked.

"Chiesa can't even start in the League Cup. His level must be really low." a fourth noted.

"How can Chiesa still not get a start? Absolutely baffling," this fan was confused.

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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot speaks about trying to influence Premier League referees

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has spoken to the press about trying to influence referees in Premier League games this season. The Reds are currently the best team in the league as they sit in pole position, having lost just once in 15 games.

Slot said to the press ahead of their upcoming match against Southampton (via ESPN):

"You try to influence as much as you can... you think that creating an atmosphere that the whole world is against you can lead to some positive decisions at the end of the game. But here, until now, in the Chelsea game and the Fulham game for the whole 90 minutes it stayed the same.

"It wasn't like after I tried to influence things a bit, the referee all of a sudden gave us one or two free kicks. No, he just kept the whole game the same. I know that it doesn't work, but sometimes you think: 'Can I influence that a bit?' But it didn't help at all."

Liverpool also sit at the top of the UEFA Champions League table, and they will look to take their brilliant run of form into the match against Southampton.