Chiesa Left Out of Liverpool's Champions League Squad

Federico Chiesa’s Liverpool story has hit another jarring note. The Italian winger has been left out of Andoni Iraola’s Champions League squad for the league phase, a decision that underlines just how ruthless the competition for places at Anfield has become.

He is not alone. Wataru Endo has also been omitted as Iraola finalised his European list, trimming a crowded dressing room down to a group he believes can handle the strain of a long continental campaign.

For Chiesa, it stings in a familiar way.

Familiar frustration for the Italian

This is not the first time he has watched Europe from the outside. Last season, Chiesa also missed the initial Champions League registration and only forced his way back into the setup after Giovanni Leoni suffered a serious long‑term injury, opening a slot.

Even then, his impact was limited. He made his Liverpool debut off the bench in a Champions League tie in Italy in September 2024, shortly after his £10m move from Juventus. It was supposed to be the start of something. A platform. A launchpad.

Instead, continental minutes have remained scarce. The stage he knows so well from his Juventus days keeps receding just as he seems close enough to touch it.

Iraola’s ruthless call

Iraola’s choice lays bare the reality of Liverpool’s rebuild. The club have reshaped large parts of the squad, stacking quality across the forward line and midfield. Someone was always going to miss out.

Registration limits do not care about reputations. They demand balance: positions, profiles, homegrown quotas, tactical flexibility. In that equation, Chiesa and Endo have fallen on the wrong side of the line this time.

Liverpool now head into Europe’s elite competition trusting the depth that did make the cut, banking on that group to withstand a packed calendar that stretches deep into winter.

Domestic grind now defines Chiesa’s season

For Chiesa, the route is clear, if not glamorous. With the Champions League door temporarily shut, his season now runs through the domestic front and the training ground.

Every session becomes an argument. Every league and cup minute, a trial. He has to convince Iraola that when the next European list is drawn up, his name cannot be ignored.

Liverpool’s schedule offers little room to breathe. The fixtures stack up, with the campaign building toward a marquee Champions League clash against Inter on January 19 — a date that will cut particularly deep for an Italian forward watching from afar.

Injuries reshaped his European fate once before at Anfield. If the season throws up similar twists, will Chiesa be ready to turn that crack in the door into a permanent place among Liverpool’s European core?