Chelsea supporters online have sought to make a rivalry with Jamie Carragher over the last few years amid his scathing criticism of the club's plans under the ownership of BlueCo. They particularly haven't liked when he's gone on the record to say he thinks Arsenal's Rice is better than their Moises Caicedo.
Times are changing, however. After his Player-of-the-Match performance at Tottenham last week, during which he won the ball high up the pitch before assisting Joao Pedro's winning goal, Carragher said of the Ecuadorian: "This was one of those goal when it’s not about the goal-scorer... It's all about Caicedo. He's an absolute monster in midfield! He makes challenge after challenge and basically gets Chelsea that goal. It's absolutely fantastic from Caicedo and exactly what Chelsea have deserved."
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez echoed those comments, adding: "I don't really need to talk about him but he's an actual animal. He's the best player on the planet in his position. He's one of the best in the world, who is better than him in that position? He's a beast. Every 50-50, every challenge he wins and is so composed on the ball.
"I haven't seen him change much. As a player and as a character, he's always been the same, hard work, effort, quiet but a very good guy. Obviously, he's filled out with his body a bit more with age and with experience, he's just got better and better on the pitch. His confidence has also gone higher and higher. He's a boss at winning the midfield."
The Blues have limped and lurched from one performance to another this season amid a spate of injuries, with head coach Enzo Maresca facing the brunt of criticism for not simply sticking to one system. Caicedo has been a near-constant however, featuring in 95 percent of all minutes that Chelsea have played. You can assure he's almost always been their best player in each of those outings as well.