John Aldridge gives verdict on Federico Chiesa cameo after Italian helps Liverpool to late win over Brentford

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Liverpool delivered an enormous boost to their Premier League title chances with a last-gasp win over Brentford on Saturday.

The Reds went to West London in search of their first league win of 2025 having drawn the previous two matches.

It was never going to be an easy one at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Brentford having only lost one game at home all season.

And although Liverpool lacked some cutting edge across the 90 minutes, they ultimately deserved the win, which came courtesy of a late Darwin Nunez double.

It was a big moment for Nunez, who hadn’t scored in the Premier League since November.

But as well as the Uruguayan, the manner of the late win also felt big for Federico Chiesa. Chiesa was on the pitch for both goals, and taking to social media after the game, former Liverpool striker John Aldridge gave his verdict on the Italian.

Federico Chiesa ‘made the difference’ for Liverpool

Chiesa has had to really bide his time for Premier League minutes this season. This was just the 28-year-old’s second appearance in the competition.

As the clock wound down, it had looked as though Arne Slot was once again going to hold Chiesa back.

But with Liverpool chasing what would be a massive winner, Slot threw the forward on with three minutes left to play.

It turned out to be a good decision. After seeing Nunez pop up with the first goal, Chiesa then had a hand in the second, racing through and laying it off to Harvey Elliott, who then fed the big No.9.

READ MORE: Thomas Frank explains why Liverpool are a 'level above' Arsenal after watching them beat Brentford

And taking to X, Aldridge hailed Chiesa as being the man who’s introduction ultimately made all the difference.

“That's a great 3 points folks,” wrote the Scouser. “Chiesa substitution made the difference. NUNEZ. YNWA.”

Chiesa finally gets his chance

This has been a long, long time coming for Chiesa. His last Premier League appearance for Liverpool came way back on September the 21st against Bournemouth.

And this may have just been a very small cameo, but it really looked like it meant the world to the Italy international.

He was the first one over celebrating with Nunez on both Liverpool goals. Suggestions that Chiesa is unhappy at Liverpool certainly look to be wide of the mark.

As he gets more minutes in the bank, Chiesa can hopefully start to earn the trust of Slot, who really ought to be using him more.

Should the former Juve man have similar impacts throughout the second-half of the season, though, Slot’s decision to rest his legs in the early parts of the campaign may yet bear fruit.