After a typically depressing September, October has actually begun with a bang for Chelsea.
Following three Premier League matches with no win, together with successive defeats, the Blues bounced again in some fashion on Saturday, defeating champions Liverpool 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Moisés Caicedo broke the impasse early with an absolute rocket, just for Liverpool to equalise simply after the hour mark, at which level most onlookers, together with Gary Neville on commentary for Sky Sports activities, anticipated the guests to go on and declare victory.
Nicely, that actually wasn’t the case as a result of, after Enzo Fernández had seen a header thwack the put up, Marc Cucurella’s low cross was turned dwelling by Estêvão Willian on the again put up, sparking wild celebrations within the Matthew Harding Stand and past.
Whereas match-winner Estêvão will get most of the headlines, one among Chelsea’s most skilled gamers put in an under-the-radar distinctive show.
Moisés Caicedo’s significance to Chelsea
As famous on Liverpool’s official web site, sure actually, the Reds agreed a £110m cope with Brighton to signal Caicedo again in August 2023, just for the Ecuadorian to hitch Chelsea as a substitute, underlining what the Merseysiders missed out on by scoring this gorgeous strike to open the scoring.
Even parking the objective to at least one facet, Caicedo put in an impressive show, controlling midfield alongside Fernández, the pair underlining why Chelsea had been keen to spend over £220m to recruit the duo.
Talking on Sky Sports activities after full-time, Jamie Redknapp labelled Caicedo “the most effective on the planet”, including that he’s “unimaginable” out of possession, concluding that he “hasn’t received a weak spot” and might be the person who brings the glory days again to Stamford Bridge.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the membership three years in the past, truthful to say loads of cash has been spent, however few gamers have proved their price fairly just like the Ecuadorian.
Nevertheless, one among Chelsea’s homegrown Cobham academy graduates additionally got here to the fore, suggesting that he could also be Enzo Maresca’s most undroppable participant.
Chelsea defender stars in opposition to Liverpool
Regardless of famously having the largest squad in soccer, Enzo Maresca was right down to the naked bones when it comes to centre-backs by the top of Saturday’s well-known win.
Firstly, Trevoh Chalobah’s crimson card in opposition to Brighton meant he was suspended, whereas Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill all missed out as a result of harm.
Then, throughout the sport, each members of the beginning defensive pairing, particularly Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong, had been compelled off as a result of accidents so, by the point of the profitable objective, Jorrel Hato was alongside Reece James on the coronary heart of defence.
The membership captain started the night in his regular place at right-back, Maresca experimenting with Malo Gusto in midfield, however wherever the England worldwide was deployed, he put in an impressive show, because the desk beneath paperwork.
Reece James vs Liverpool | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics | James | Match rank |
Tackles | 5 | 1st |
Defensive actions | 10 | 1st |
Blocks | 1 | 1st |
Interceptions | 2 | 2nd |
Key passes | 2 | 4th |
Correct passes | 50 | 2nd |
Duels contested | 10 | third |
Duels gained | 8 | 1st |
Aerial duels gained | 2 | 1st |
Touches | 83 | 1st |
SofaScore ranking | 7.2 | fifth |
Stats through SofaScore | ||
Because the desk paperwork, James was completely key to Chelsea’s victory.
He ranked first for tackles, defensive actions, blocks, duels gained, aerial duels gained and touches, additionally finishing the second-most passes of any participant on the pitch, behind solely Virgil van Dijk, whereas Cucurella was the one man bedecked in blue to register extra key passes.
This underlines not solely his defensive acumen, but in addition his high quality on the ball.
Following Chelsea’s Convention League victory over København at Parken in March, talking on TNT Sport, Joe Cole asserted that James is pretty much as good as any right-back on the planet, whereas believing he could also be finest utilised in midfield, one thing Maresca has executed loads of instances since his arrival simply over a yr in the past.
Both means, at full-back or within the center, James emphasised that he must be on the pitch as a lot as potential, whereas acknowledging that his minutes should be fastidiously managed, given his treacherous harm historical past.
So, whereas each switch window is dominated by Chelsea spending a whole bunch of tens of millions on new signings, the captain, who has been with the membership for the reason that age of six, continues to be a key determine.
