What happened when Federico Chiesa was substituted speaks volumes about player Liverpool signed

As someone who had to wait nearly 100 days for his next competitive start after Italy's exit at this summer's European Championships, Federico Chiesa was never going to waste time as set tongues wagging in Liverpool's 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham United.

Kopites were afforded a fleeting glimpse of the Italian in wins against Bournemouth and AC Milan earlier this month but it was here, at Anfield, that the £10m summer signing from Juventus was assessed for the first time.

Of course, the merits of Liverpool's sole summer signing were never going to be concluded in a run-of-the-mill cup tie in the final week of September. But judging by the ovation the 26-year-old received as he was replaced by Mohamed Salah just before the hour mark, the Reds' latest acquisition appears to be a shrewd one.

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But despite being the headline attraction for the first phase of Liverpool's League Cup defence, Chiesa was part of the supporting cast as he lined up alongside Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo behind Darwin Nunez.

The Anfield crowd would have been forgiven for assuming the Euro 2020 winner had been resigned to a background role as he struggled to involve himself in the opening exchanges before Jarell Quansah's own goal handed the Hammers a shock lead on 21 minutes.

But the young defender's misfortune acted as a casting call for Chiesa. And just moments later Liverpool had an equaliser courtesy of the former Juventus and Fiorentina man's acrobatics as his side-facing volley landed at the head of Jota, who nodded home from close range.

Just moments before half-time as the forward began to find his groove, the highlight reel of this eye-catching debut performance was well and truly being assembled as he schooled Hammers full-back Vladimir Coufal with a textbook nutmeg on the byline.

As he became the first Italian to start for Liverpool since Mario Balotelli's ill-fated spell at the club in 2015, there were no lofty expectations for Chiesa to live up to as he stepped out for his full debut. But judging by the ovation that greeted his departure, Chiesa will have no worries about treading the same path as his countryman at Anfield.

And he won't have to wait nearly 100 days for his next start. That's for sure.