5 ball recoveries don’t tell the full story – Chelsea anchor puts in a complete performance | OneFootball

Moises Caicedo was brilliant for Chelsea on Saturday night in their win over Liverpool.

The midfielder was everywhere, covering so much ground, breaking up attacks and screening when his teammates went forward.

He also did plenty in attack, circulating the ball with his usual efficiency and scoring a superb goal.

Caicedo goal just the start of great showing

Moises Caicedo celebrates his goal. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Chelsea website did a piece looking at his numbers from the game and what had made them so special. What’s incredible is that, according to them, Caicedo won 86% of the votes for the award on the club’s website, just days after putting up similar numbers for the win over Benfica in the Champions League.

Caicedo’s goal was just 0.04 xG, showing what a stunning strike it was to beat the very big Giorgi Mamardhashvili from outside the box. But that wasn’t the only impressive number the midfielder had to his name.

He had 5 ball recoveries in total, and even that doesn’t tell the whole story. Some things don’t appear on the stats sheet – like Caicedo shutting down a dangerous attack in the final minute and shepherding the ball out of play.

Midfielder calm and effective on the ball

As always, his work on the ball ends up being underrated compared to his defending, but it shouldn’t be. He had the third most completed passes on his team. He even had a role in the build-up to Estevao’s late winner.

Despite playing in a deeper role, Caicedo doesn’t just pass sideways – he finds ways to move the ball forward and launch attacks. He really is a complete midfield player.

The Ecuador star has played every minute of every league game so far – our only concern is burnout. Let’s hope he’s given an easy time of it by his country in the next fortnight.