Chiesa left out of Liverpool Champions League squad for Galatasaray clash

Federico Chiesa won't be part of the Liverpool squad for their Champions League clash against Galatasaray despite taking part in the open training session on Monday.

Liverpool have left Federico Chiesa out of their squad for Tuesday's Champions League showdown with Galatasaray in Turkey. Despite participating in open training at the AXA Training Centre on Monday, the Italian international was not included in the 21-man squad confirmed by Liverpool for their second Champions League match.

Chiesa was initially left out of Liverpool's squad for the first stage of the competition due to an excess of non-homegrown players, but was added last week when special dispensation was granted to the Premier League champions following a season-ending injury to Giovanni Leoni.

The forward made an impact off the bench, scoring a late equaliser in the 2-1 Premier League loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and provided two assists in the 2-1 League Cup victory over Southampton four days prior.

Slot had recently admitted that the club were seeking to add Chiesa to their Champions League squad for the league phase. "Yeah, we've looked into this," he said during Friday's press conference.

“I cannot tell you exactly where that process is at the moment. That is not something I do myself, there are other people doing this.

“But if I’m informed correctly, if a player has a longer than two-month injury, you are able to replace him. That’s what they’ve told me and now we have to see if it’s true or not, but other people are looking into that.”

Liverpool have called up Hugo Ekitike after the striker served a one-match domestic ban at the weekend, with 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha also getting a nod and Freddie Woodman rounding out the trio of required goalkeepers.

Teenage midfielder Trey Nyoni is absent, likely to feature for the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League match against Galatasaray on Tuesday afternoon. At the same time, Jayden Danns is sidelined with a hamstring issue, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The Reds kicked off their Champions League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield, while Turkish champions Galatasaray suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt.

LIVERPOOL SQUAD v GALATASARAY: Alisson, Gomez, Endo, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister, Salah, Bradley, Jones, Gakpo, Ekitike, Mamardashvili, Robertson, Woodman, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Ngumoha.