Enzo Maresca will be more than pleased as Chelsea recorded their biggest ever win away at West Ham United.
The hosts took an early lead in the 6th minute courtesy of Lucas Paqueta, but once Joao Pedro grabbed the equaliser nine minutes later, it was all Chelsea at the London Stadium.
Indeed, Maresca made the right call in choosing to drop the Brazilian into the number 10 role on the night and was rewarded with a scintillating display resulting in a goal and two assists.
Cole Palmer was a late exclusion from the starting line-up for the Blues, but luckily, Estevao deputised expertly in his place as he too picked up an assist for Enzo Fernandez.
West Ham United v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
However, despite Joao Pedro producing a Man of the Match display in East London, one of his Chelsea teammates produced an arguably more impressive performance.
Moises Caicedo was dominant for Chelsea against West Ham
Joao Pedro proved the pundits wrong after an admittedly underwhelming Premier League debut for Chelsea – Paul Merson wanted the Brazilian dropped against the Hammers.
Nevertheless, Moises Caicedo, scorer of the fourth goal for the Blues, was nothing short of dominant for the visitors.
The Ecuadorian endured a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge following his eye-watering £110 million move from Brighton, but he has since kicked on, with Chelsea fans leaping to Caicedo’s defence after his displays last year were widely overlooked.
Even more so, by Paul Scholes, who suggested Caicedo is overrated, which largely seems to be the consensus when discussing defensive midfielders, but he was undoubtedly at his best at the London Stadium.
Moises Caicedo vs West Ham Total
Touches 86
Pass Accuracy 92%
Passes into the final third 11
Tackles won 67%
Shots on target 1
Goals 1
Defensive Contributions 5
Recoveries 2
Statistics provided by Fotmob.
Although Joao Pedro played a hand in three out of Chelsea’s five goals, Caicedo was an integral cog in everything that worked well for the side.
West Ham did not have a sniff at goal after the 6th minute, largely due to the 23-year-old, who continuously forced the issue with line-breaking passes.
Being a number 6 in the Premier League is arguably one of the most challenging roles in football, and Caicedo played the position with ease, setting the bar for his teammates.
‘Quality’ Caicedo haunts Graham Potter
Graham Potter experienced firsthand how good an in-form Caicedo can truly be as the Ecuadorian proved to be a major thorn in the ex-Chelsea manager’s side, who once lauded the “quality” midfielder.
“He’s a really nice person. Humble, wants to learn and improve and fight for the team. As a human being he’s top, really pleased for him,” Potter said on Premier League Productions.
“I think it’s only natural that there’s pressure. The team is trying to function better than it was, he’s come in at £100m or whatever it was and you expect a lot for that type of money.
“Moises isn’t really that type of player. Most of the time he’s the guy who lets other players play better, gets in good positions, can deal with big spaces, wins the ball back. Now you’re seeing the quality that he has.”