The Italian international was a half-time substitute and scored his first goal for the club as Liverpool advanced to round four

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has revealed the reason why Federico Chiesa did not start the FA Cup third-round clash against Accrington Stanley at Anfield on Saturday.

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The Reds ran out 4-0 winners against the League Two outfit thanks to goals from Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jayden Danns and the Italian international.

It was Chiesa's first goal for the Reds which he took in fine style, firing past William Crellin in the Accrington goal from 25 yards at the Kop end.

There was a surprise when the teamsheet was released and the 27-year-old was not in Slot's starting XI but the Dutchman revealed (via David Lynch) after the match that Chiesa had missed training over the past two days through illness.

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Chiesa showed encouraging signs during the 45 minutes he was on the pitch that he can be a real asset in attack for Liverpool as time and time again he found himself in behind the Accrington defence as they tired.

The forward has been the subject of transfer speculation over recent weeks, so it will be very interesting to see whether he is still at Anfield once the window is shut.

There is no doubt, however, that the signs are there that his quality could help the Reds in their search for major honours during the second half of the season.