Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo starred as Ecuador picked up an important victory over Venezuela on Friday.
Chelsea supporters know first-hand how much quality Moises Caicedo, 23, has in his game. The defensive midfielder has really come into his own during his second season at Stamford Bridge to emerge as a vital individual.
Gary Neville recently applauded Caicedo by claiming that he’s gone from “awful” to “outstanding” in his Blues career.
During the international breaks, Caicedo joins up with Ecuador, where there is a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the real star of their national side.
The Blues ace just helped Ecuador beat Venezuela by a 2-1 scoreline to leave them sitting second position in the World Cup qualifying group for South American countries. Incidentally, 17-year-old Chelsea signing Kendry Paez was an unused substitute in the fixture.
Position Team Points
1st Argentina 28
2nd Ecuador 22
3rd Brazil 21
4th Uruguay 20
5th Paraguay 20
6th Colombia 19
7th Bolivia 13
8th Venezuela 12
9th Peru 10
10th Chile 9
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers Table
Photo by RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP via Getty Images
National media praised Caicedo for another eye-catching performance in midfield for Ecuador during the Venezuela victory. In particular, it was noted that he was “impeccable” at regaining possession for his team.
ESPN Deportes wrote: “Moises Caicedo. Ecuador’s best player, he was instrumental in shutting down the opponent’s defensive system. He mastered set pieces, executed crosses with precision, and was also impeccable in stealing the ball.”
Speaking back in December, Jason Cundy called stressed Caicedo’s importance by naming him the most vital player in the Chelsea squad. While Cole Palmer usually gets the headlines for his attacking play, Caicedo is often doing the unsung work just behind him as the deep-lying midfielder.
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It’s exciting that Chelsea think they’ve signed a profile similar to Caicedo with Sporting Lisbon-owned Dario Essugo, who joins up with the Blues in the summer.
Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images
Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images
The statistics for Moises Caicedo’s masterclass vs Venezuela
Caicedo just put in the type of dominant all-action performance on the international stage that the Chelsea fanbase are used to watching most weeks in club football.
Minutes played Accurate passes Chances created Successful dribbles Tackles won Ground duels won Dribbled past Match rating
90 62/69 (90%) 1 3/4 (75%) 2/3 (67%) 8/10 (80%) 1 7.8
Moises Caicedo performance in Ecuador vs Venezuela via FOTMOB
As you can see above, Caicedo is a midfielder who can do a bit of everything on the football pitch.
A lot of eyebrows were raised when the Blues coughed up £115m to sign him from Brighton nearly two years ago, but he’s slowly beginning to show why he cost that much with some outstanding displays this season.