This Chelsea player won 11 duels and made 14 defensive contributions in midfield whirlwind | OneFootball

Chelsea were beaten by Fulham 2-1 today after going down to ten men after 22 minutes. Suddenly on the back foot, the game of game state did allow Moises Caicedo to rack up yet more defensive stats.

The midfielder had 14 defensive contributions in the game, comprising 4 tackles, 3 interceptions, 6 recoveries and a block. That was the joint most in the game. He tore around midfield in his usual fashion. When Andrey Santos was taken off for a defender, Caicedo had twice as much work as before.

The £100m man also had 11 duels won, more than anyone else in the game. He won 10 of his 15 ground duels – nobody else on the pitch even competed in more than 9. As always he was tidy in possession too.

The suspension against Man City did him good – he looked fresh. We hope he’s not played on Saturday either, to give him the chance to be 100% when we face Arsenal next week.

Caicedo a crucial building block for Rosenior

Liam Rosenior on the phone. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

It’s cold comfort really from a game where we not only lost, but saw the divisions in the club and the problems in the first team squad laid bare.

But it’s at least something to hold on to, and something for Liam Rosenior to build on when he takes over. Caicedo’s energy allows the team to play a much more open game in theory, and we hope we now take advantage of that.

In other news…

Chelsea tried a new setup today, and we expect to see more of it when Liam Rosenior is in charge. One player is likely to suffer a benching, and he probably deserves it. 

Calum McFarlane defended Cucurella in his press conference after the defender got a red card. He claimed there was no lack of discipline in the squad – contrary to all the evidence.