Chelsea already down 1-0. The colombian Lerma bodies Caicedo off the ball in a knee to knee clash and rockets a screamer.
Yeah and it was definitely a foul on Caicedo but they were never going to disallow that kind of goal. Chelsea really suffers against teams that park the bus, especially in premier league. Caicedo does look sluggish and lazy at times. But then they play cup games and look like world beaters.
Conor Gallagher's first Premier League goal of the season brings Chelsea level against Crystal Palace!📺 @USANetwork | #CRYCHE pic.twitter.com/1kn5CQBbhR— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 12, 2024
Caicedo had a way better second half. Essentially starting all 3 plays for the goals. Assisting the assister if you will. Chelsea play man city and liverpool up next lol I despise both of those teams so I’ll root for caicedo to keep up this momentum.
His stat lines in the past 2 games has been impressive. As you've rightly noted, the test is always against bigger opponents. Chelsea is in such a rut that the games vs. the Crystal Palaces, Lutons, and Evertons of the league are actually no longer guaranteed points, and then you have the midtable games vs the Brightons, Bournemouths, and Wolves which are considered the "dogfights". In a past life, those might've been considered lock-in points, too. Against the top-4, we'd need to see the team so zeroed in to make a run at stealing even 1 point. I don't think the team is ready (yet). Chelsea needs to accumulate enough points to rise 4 or 5 positions in the standings by season's end in order to qualify directly to the Europa League and that would include knocking off West Ham, Brighton, and Newcastle in the process. It's a tall order when we don't see enough consistency. At this point, even winning ugly is fine...it builds character. They are performing well enough in the EFL and FA cups, but the inconsistency in the PL is a real gut check. A team that expensive cannot afford to go another year without playing continental tournament football (and I'm only considering CL and EL)...even Conference League would be a bit of a slap in the face.
Caicedo was average in the first half. He had a much better second half though. He participated in all three of Chelsea’s goals. He was definitely fouled just prior to the Lerma goal. Overall I liked his performance. He’s been solid the last two games so hopefully he keeps it up. I won’t go as far as to say he’s lazy but he does look sluggish at times. Is it fatigue? Maybe he’s nursing a minor injury?
Pretty spot on. I dont think with what's left of the season, they're going to miraculously make a run of the table in the PL. Their best shot for Europa Leage is winning that EFL cup final against liverpool and qualifying via those means. lol I stopped watching that tourney out of rage. But I did hear that Paraguay looked solid, un Paraguay reforzado in qualifiers might be a real danger.
The eliminatorias is such an enigma and difficult to predict outside of usually saying Argentina and Brazil will qualify- the other 4 slots will essentially be so difficult. This is the one tournament that really leaves me frustrated with the calendar. We have breaks which last for many months, and it makes gaining momentum nearly impossible. In the gap time, we can see a high flying team return to WCQ play and then stumble because the players' performance can dip- or in this case, we can see "a new fighter enter the waiting room". I remember when Ecuador started the 2018 qualifier red hot, and basically turned to vapor by matchday 10...maybe it was earlier, too.
Scouting and watching him play in high pressure games is a good sign- their list of candidates will be long, but Hincapie will certainly get a good look. In less exciting news, but still containing a tiny light of an upside- Estrada might go to Liga. Lord knows we need options up front. A guy in good form who can shine regularly can get selected ride high confidence to good performances. The inverse is also true, though.
I hope Leverkusen win it this year, I didn’t know they never been champions before. And about Estrada. Does anyone remember the Boca rumors? I wonder if Pervis is on his way out? Just noticed Brighton got that Boca LB.
It might be early but screw it. My long list of players for the next upcoming friendlies. GK: Alexander Dominguez Hernan Galindez Javier Burrai GK Left out: Moises Ramirez- He picked up an injury and is currently in physical rehab. Not sure if he will recover in time. CB: Piero Hincapie Willian Pacho Felix Torres Robert Arboleda Leo Realpe Jackson Porozo Erick Ferigra * He has been a starter for his team in Portugals 2nd division and they might get promoted. CB Left out: Joel Ordonez/ Luis Segovia- Recovering from Injury Full Backs: Pervis Estupinan Jhoanner Chavez Angelo Preciado Jose Hurtado Jhon Espinoza Full Backs Left out: Diego Palacios - Injured CM/CDM: Moises Caicedo Oscar Zambrano Sebastian Gonzalez Joao Ortiz Erick Pluas Jefferson Intriago * I doubt he gets called but I would like to see him get the chance CM/CDM Left Out: Carlos Gruezo- There hasnt been any knews on him at all for his preseason. I hope he took vacation and some time off training to have a good reason not to call him. Sebastian Mendez/ Jose Cifuentes- Both Changed teams recently no update on them yet. Alan Franco- Hasnt gotten any playing time and has been only called up to the bench Wingers/CAM: Kevin Rodriguez Alan Minda Yeimar Medina Pedro Vite Kendry Paez Jeremy Sarmiento Kike Saverio Wingers/CAM Left out: John Yeboah/ Gonzalo Plata- Both have not had any news or activity during their preseason Anthony Valencia- Injured Nilson Angulo- Recently promoted to the first team. He has gotten a small amount of minutes here and there. FW: Enner Valencia Ronnie Carrillo Leonardo Campana Jordy Caicedo FW Left out: Michael Estrada- Might change teams hasnt had any activity either.
It crazy because Boca Juniors dropped 4.43 mil on Jan hurtado when he was worth 750k and never had the numbers to justify that price but Boca didnt want to drop a penny more than 3mil on Estrada when at the time he was valued at 3mil was a starter and top goal scorer on the NT. Byron Castillo was also linked to them around that time.
Yeboah actually needs to see the pitch donning the kit to see how he gels. It's a good list, but it's too long- I believe we can only take 23.
Yea If I had to pick now and shave some players off I guess it would be Leo Campana- Only coming on as a sub Jordy Caicedo- Hasn't scored in quite some time and is seeing less and less minutes. Jeremy Sarmiento- As of now almost everyone else gets more minutes than him although I would like to see him get called back. We know what he brings to the team. Kike Saverio- You can argue that he would need more good games to merit a call but as of now he has had some good moments. Jefferson Intriago- Hasnt got called to the NT in a while and although he has been doing well aboard probably wont get looked at now Sebastian Gonzalez- Compared to other players he still needs to improve physically Jhon Espinoza- He does merit a call but Jose Hurtado has been already part of the process. They see the same amount of playing time. That is the only plus Jose Hurtado has over him. Erick Ferigra- There is no need for him now with our list of CB but I would like to see him mentioned more as an option to come back eventually. Leo Realpe- He lost his starting spot on the team for some reason. As for Yeboah he will need to be a consistent starter and go back to being the one of the best players of the league IMO to continue to be part of the NT. His last season paled in comparison to his first season in Poland. He will be getting more and more competition for his spot. I dont think we should call him for now. He was very unlucky to get injured in his last call. His season starts tomorrow by next month he will have about 7 games before the call up. Hard to say if he can bring his number up by then.