Chelsea’s lowest rated player last night is usually their star – and it’s not Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Large parts of this season, especially recently, have had midfielder Moises Caicedo carrying Chelsea through some bad spells.

In a midfield where he often lacks much help or cover, the Ecuador star has been brilliant, sometimes single-handedly holding the opposition at bay. His play on the ball continues to improve too, and he would probably be our pick for player of the season as it stands.

But while usually it’s Caicedo carrying the team, last night it was the team carrying Caicedo, at least if you look at the stats. WhoScored had every player on Enzo Maresca’s team rated as a 7 or above, with 5 of the team above an 8. But Caicedo got just a 6.8.

It was the same story on SofaScore, where he was also given a 6.8 and considered the worst on the Blues.

The usually reliable midfielder lost possession 4 times, he was dribbled past twice. He won 0 aerial duels and just 2 of 6 ground duels. Just a bad day at the office for Caicedo, but nothing spectacular. He was still regular with his passing against a dire Southampton team.

Caicedo needs a break – and may well get one

Moises Caicedo speaks to Enzo Maresca. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The yellow yard he picked up for a quite nasty late challenge probably also lowered his score – although it does have one potential “upside”. It puts the former Brighton man on 9 for the season, meaning one more and he will pick up a two game ban.

Of course, that hurts the team – but Caicedo could certainly do with a rest, and perhaps this poor performance by the numbers shows he needs that break more than we might think.

We have a week’s rest until our next game, but even then we would really rather not see Caicedo play against Copenhagen if we can help it.