Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca certainly knows the importance of Moises Caicedo.
Maresca has picked the Ecuadorian midfielder in the starting line-up for 50 of his 51 Premier League matches at Chelsea.
Now, though, after a red card in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal, Caicedo will miss three matches – at Leeds on Wednesday, and against Bournemouth and Everton.
Speaking on Tuesday, Maresca gave Caicedo the same billing as star attacker Cole Palmer.
“We are a better team with Cole, we are a better team with Moi,” said Maresca.
Caicedo has been a key player for the Blues so far this season, and only a late return from South America prevented him from starting their 2-0 victory against Burnley after the November international break.
Asked by BBC Sport about still winning while resting his midfield lynchpin, Maresca said: “I won’t do it any more. This is the last time!”
He may have been joking, but there is perhaps some truth behind his words.
Caicedo won both the club’s players’ player and fans’ player of the season awards in 2024-25, and is regarded by his manager as one of the two best defensive midfielders in the world, alongside Manchester City’s Rodri.
Statistics from football data provider Opta back up that judgement.
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No midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues has made more tackles (28) or interceptions (18) this season than Caicedo.
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Those 28 tackles represent 23% of Chelsea’s overall figure – the second-highest ratio Opta have on record for a player in a season since 2006-07.
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Caicedo makes more tackles and wins a higher percentage of duels (59%) than Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch – both often considered among the league’s best midfielders.
