I really liked Chiesa. He looks much much more threatening than Diaz. As good as he is, I don't feel he is really a threat on the pitch. But when Chiesa is on the ball, you expect something to happen; same for Nunez on a good day.
Maybe Chiesa should be in competition to play on the left and not on the right.
The CL table shows that the real difference for us is defence. We don't score more than other teams, but we concede less and this gives us our edge.
I agree that Chiesa appears to be more threatening than Diaz when he comes on to the pitch. He obviously has quality as an attacking player, good close control and an ability to create a bit of space for himself to get a pass or shot off.
However, Diaz has some advantages. You highlight that we are top because of our defensive record. Diaz's (and Darwin's) workrate, pressing and tracking contribute a lot to that defensive record. I know Chiesa has not had many minutes so it's hard to assess him but I don't think he has the workrate of Diaz. I'd be concerned if we played Mo at RW and Chiesa at LW, would we still have the pressing intensity that we rely on?
I also think that Chiesa has the advantage of coming in fresh again a tired defender.
He's obviously a quality player but it's very early in his Liverpool career. I hope he gets more minutes, a few starts and he can contribute to a successful season.
I still think he's 1 for the future. I hope he's happy at the club with reduced minutes this season, I think he'll probably be a bigger part of the team next season.
Logged