The strike was as sweet as it was rare. According to ‘the Peter Drury hyperbole bingo card’ it was hit with “special purity” – whatever that actually means.
True, a half-dozen or so Manchester United bodies, stood ball gazing after a Chelsea corner was half cleared, rather than attempt to decrease the space Moises Caicedo found himself in on the penalty area’s edge. But it was still some goal: one that punctured the positive vibes, reducing the roar at Old Trafford, just minutes after the hosts had gone ahead. And it earned Chelsea a Premier League point away from home. That is never to be sniffed at.
Caicedo is a man of few goals. Admittedly the sample size is relatively small, but if history’s pattern is to be followed, that is him, one and out for the season. No matter. Scoring is not Caicedo’s primary function, nor is it even scrawled anywhere on his job description. He is a shield, a defensive midfielder, a No.6 – unless you deal in old money, in which case, four is the digit you are looking for.
And a darn good one he is, too. With modern football’s fixation on data, numbers and spreadsheets, it is Caicedo’s price tag that is always referenced. He is amongst a handful of players to have commanded nine-figure transfer fees, and it could be argued – and many would argue – that £115 million should be a guarantee of instant, top-level performances.
That is not how elite sport, or indeed anything involving human beings, works, though. There are nuances and variables galore to be accounted for. One only need glance at Chelsea’s substitute bench where Enzo Fernandez watched on until late on Sunday. Something about square pegs and circular holes springs to mind. Caicedo’s exceptional Brighton form is what persuaded Chelsea that he was worth a club-record fee, and he is now, after a patchy opening season, looking the part.
Maresca: “Chelsea is a big club and Caicedo is improving a lot”
“Since we arrived, Moi is doing fantastic,” said Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca. “I said during the week, the problem with Moi and Enzo [Fernandez] – these kind of players – is probably the big money the club paid. Everyone expects them to be the best, but they are human, and it is normal. Moi is improving a lot. We are spending time with him and the rest to improve them.
“First of all, most of the time in football, one plus one is not always two. Because he was so good at Brighton, it does not mean he is going to be as good at Chelsea. He needs more time; he needs to adapt.
“Chelsea is a big club, one of the best clubs in the world, so the impact is not easy. When they join Chelsea for a lot of money, people think they will arrive here and be the best but that’s why I said one plus one is not two.”
Caicedo was comfortably the best player on the Old Trafford pitch on Sunday, and his fledgling partnership with Romeo Lavia looks promising. His performance was a lesson to Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro and United’s recruitment team. Remember they had tracked Caicedo when he was at Independiente del Valle only to pull out of a £4m deal because of a complicated agent payment arrangement. If only they had muddle through. Still, their loss was Brighton’s gain.
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Caicedo has enjoyed an exceptional start to the season, with no one in the division winning more tackles. He is on a par with, if not better than, at least on current form, Declan Rice who, because of both transfer timing and finances, was an easy comparator last year. But he will not stand still. As ever, Caicedo will watch Sunday’s match back in full of his personal performance coach as he seeks constant improvement.
After the 1-1 draw, Maresca’s reluctance to single out individuals for praise was obvious. Many in the media and amongst supporters believe Caicedo to be amongst the best in the world in his position, but a politician’s answer was received from Maresca when that was put to him.
“I think I have one of the best squads in the Premier League, I have no doubt about this,” he said. “Moi belongs to the squad. Since I arrived, the first thing I said to the club is that I was in love with the squad and this squad is very good.
“We have one of the best squads in the Premier League. Talent is not enough. We need to be more things, but we are in the right direction.”
Maresca’s assesment is fair. They are short of a top-class goalkeeper, a shot-stopper of Petr Cech proportions – Robert Sanchez’s clumsy foul on Rasmus Hojlund gave a penalty that allowed United to move ahead of Chris Wood in the season’s goalscoring race. But otherwise, Chelsea have a fine cocktail of youth and talent. Once they find consistency, and for that time and patience is required, they will become a regular top four force again.
