Federico Chiesa spoke of the powerful emotions he experienced after scoring a dramatic late goal for Liverpool, which he dedicated to the memory of Diogo Jota.
The Reds were level at 2-2 with AFC Bournemouth in their Premier League opener at Anfield on Friday night when Chiesa was introduced from the bench with just nine minutes of normal time remaining.
Only seven minutes later, the Italian forward latched onto a half-cleared ball inside the box and unleashed a stunning volley into the Kop-end net, restoring Liverpool’s lead and sparking wild celebrations among the home supporters.
It was Chiesa’s first Premier League goal for the club, and it carried extra significance as it came during Liverpool’s first competitive home match since the tragic passing of Jota and his brother, André Silva.
Mohamed Salah added a late strike to seal a 4-2 victory for Arne Slot’s side on an emotional night at Anfield.
“It is [the moment I’ve been waiting for]. It’s a great goal!” Chiesa told Liverpoolfc.com post-match.
“It was really emotional today and after I scored, my thoughts went to Diogo, to Andre, to his family who were here today. It was really emotional. The goal was for him.
“In my mind, I think that Diogo was somewhere in here helping me to score this goal. I’d like to think like that. He’s always with us, he’s going to be with us.
“It was tough today but there was a great atmosphere, the fans were amazing throughout the game. Also, I’m really grateful for the song they’re singing. Really, really emotional.”
The No.14 added: “Above all, at Anfield it seems like in the second half when you attack towards the Kop, it feels like the ball wants to go inside the net.
“And today, I want to think that we had also the help of Diogo and his brother up there.”
“We showed that last year we deserved to be champions, we showed character, we showed determination,” said Chiesa of the Reds’ mentality to reclaim an advantage.
“Every game in the Premier League is not finished until the ref blows the whistle. So we have to be more concentrated above all, because we had the game in hand.
“We could have shown a bit more concentration, because I think we played a really good game and Bournemouth had these two chances on the counter-attack.
“At the end we had to score two goals but we need to improve before – we don’t need to arrive at the end with that we need to get two goals to win a game.
“But I think at the end of the day we showed why we were champions last year and we have players that can come in and get us over the hurdle and get us the win.”
“I love the club,” he said. “I’m playing for one of the best clubs in the world and I feel the passion of the fans, I feel the energy.
“Playing at Anfield is mesmerising, it’s just incredible and I’m so happy to be here.”
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