Italian winger Federico Chiesa has looked better with every appearance he has made for Liverpool, slowly improving as the season has progressed. But the PSV game, where he looked really fit, was a big step forward.

Chiesa played the full 90 minutes and was still sprinting around deep into second-half stoppage time. Earlier, he had won the penalty that was converted by Cody Gakpo and had more shots than anyone else in a Liverpool shirt.

"Yeah, of course he's ready for more minutes," Arne Slot said during today's press conference. "If he can play 90 at Champions League level then you are able to play an amount of minutes in the Premier League.

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"His main problem is he is in competition with Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota. I think you’ll agree with me that they are doing quite well also.

"But it’s very good for us that it was six or seven months ago, he said, against Switzerland [for Italy] when they lost in the Euros was the last time he played 90 minutes. So it’s very good from him.

"But definitely also from our performance staff that we’ve during training sessions got him to the point that he’s able to play 90 minutes, without a lot of friendlies or whatever. A big compliment for him how hard he has worked and for the performance and medical staff as well."

Chiesa is never going to be a player who gets into the starting XI every week for Liverpool but that was never the intention when he signed for a modest fee. If he can stay fit and keep building on his appearances over the next few months, he could be a vital part of the Reds' team during the run-in.

Interestingly, Chiesa has looked good off the left flank as well as the right. For Juventus, he played a lot down the middle too, albeit as part of a two-man strike force. While overtaking Salah on the right isn't going to happen, there might be chances in other places too.

Liverpool.com says: Only starting twice so far since he arrived on Merseyside, there is still much more than Chiesa needs to do to prove himself at the very highest level. As a squad option for Slot to use now and again, though, he is elite. He has looked sharp lately and more chances will soon come his way, even if they mainly come off the bench.