Virgil van Dijk and Steven Gerrard react after Federico Chiesa makes his Premier League debut for Liverpool
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Liverpool fans finally saw summer signing Federico Chiesa in action at Anfield for the first time as he made his Premier League debut.
Chiesa was a 72nd minute substitute as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0, with the Italian replacing Darwin Nunez.
Nunez's goal impressed Andoni Iraola, whose Bournemouth side found it difficult at Anfield from the very first minute.
The wonder goal came after a brace from Luis Diaz, who also left the field in the 72nd minute for Cody Gakpo.
Such substitutions show the strength in depth that Arne Slot boasts in attack this season, which should really help Liverpool compete successfully in all competitions.
Virgil van Dijk and Steven Gerrard react to Federico Chiesa's Premier League debut
Chiesa made his Reds debut midweek in the Champions League win over AC Milan, with the Italian entering as an injury-time substitute.
He was fortunately given more time against Bournemouth for his Premier League debut, which has attracted attention from Liverpool icons Virgil van Dijk and Steven Gerrard.
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Chiesa posted images of his debut on Instagram, with Van Dijk commenting with a fire emoji and Gerrard liking the post.
His Anfield teammates Dominik Szoboszlai and Conor Bradley also enjoyed the debut, with the former writing 'Mamma Mia' with an Italian flag as the latter posted the clapping hands and heart emojis.
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Kris Boyd says Chiesa looked 'rusty', but that was always going to be a possibility given his lack of football this season.
The attacker did, however, very nearly blow the roof off Anfield just moments after entering the pitch, trying an ambitious volley from distance.
It didn't test Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in the end, but the Liverpool fans will have loved such ambition and confidence from the Italian.
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Slot is slowly but surely easing the attacker into his squad, with a first start very much on the cards against West Ham.
The Hammers travel to Anfield on Wednesday for a League Cup clash, with the hosts certain to be full of confidence against their Premier League rivals after the fine display against Bournemouth.
