Cole Palmer will steal all the headlines for his performance against Wolves yesterday, and rightly so. He scored a hattrick in the first half, effectively winning the game for Chelsea before the first period of the game was done.
In the second half, the Blues rather disappointed in attack as they chose to sit back and hold on to what they had. But of course their midfield hoover Moises Caicedo was still on top form.
Caicedo’s insane defensive stats show how midfielder locked down Wolves
Defensive contributions table shows Caicedo's insane numbers.
Defensive contributions table shows Caicedo’s insane numbers.
According to Fotmob, Caicedo had an insane TWENTY ONE defensive contributions. That’s the same as Trevoh Chalobah and Angel Gomes, second and third placed in the rankings, COMBINED.
Comprising that number were 7 tackles, 9 recoveries, 2 interceptions and 2 clearances. He also won 8 of his 12 ground duels, the joint most with Joao Pedro.
Caicedo was dominant on the ball too – he had 116 touches, more than anyone else on the pitch. He had a 96% pass completion rate, created 2 chances and made 9 passes into the final third. Two of his three long balls were accurate. An absolute masterclass.
His pairing with Andrey Santos in the middle gives them both more solidity, and we hope we see more of it. Being moved to the right pocket certainly didn’t seem to hurt Palmer, that’s for sure.
Our only concern from the game was that Caicedo completed yet another full 90. Surely the chance was there to rest him in the second period?
In other news…
Robert Sanchez spoke a little about working under Rosenior – the players all seem to be loving it, and the mood at Chelsea is really positive after this string of wins.
Rosenior had shrugged off the idea that Palmer isn’t 100% fit – but both Sanchez here and Palmer himself have said that that’s the case.
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