LIVERPOOL have surprisingly left two senior stars out of their Champions League squad this season.
Andoni Iraola‘s Reds have got off to a mixed start this season, with two draws from their first two Premier League matches.
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They have already felt the heat after being left relatively thin in midfield and forward areas.
So it was even more striking when a specialist in each department was left out of the running for the European competition.
Winger Federico Chiesa and holding midfielder Wataru Endo both featured as important options off the bench last season.
But they won’t be doing so in Europe this year having been omitted from a squad that includes four goalkeepers and several injured stars.
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Geovani Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike were all included in the 25-man list despite recovering from long-term injuries.
Even 21-year-old prospect James McConnell was included in the squad, despite his last senior appearance for the club coming in the 2024/25 campaign.
It shows how wrong things have gone for Chiesa – who earns a massive £150,000-a-week – since his £10million arrival from Juventus in 2024.
The Italian is recovering from a muscle injury that sidelined him for the opening games of the season, and has fallen behind new arrivals Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola in Iraola’s plans.
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Friday 4 September
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Endo has been included in the matchday squad for both of Liverpool’s opening games but is yet to get onto the pitch.
But he could not pip the injured crew to a spot on the Champions League list, with Bradley and Ekitike both expected to be out well past the end of September.
Club’s can submit a list of 25 stars for their Champions Legaue squad, with a minimum of eight required to be homegrown or locally trained players.
They can also submit an unlimited B list of U21 stars, with youth prospects therefore able to take the field even if they were not named in the 25-man shortlist.
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Liverpool’s Champions League squad
Goalkeepers: Alisson, Mamardashvili, Woodman, Jaros
Defenders: Gomez, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Bradley, Leoni, Tsimikas, Frimpong, Araujo, Chambers, Mabaya
Midfielders: Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, McConnell
Forwards: Isak, Gakpo, Ekitike, Barcola, Munoz