“He’s the guy who lets others play better” - Graham Potter lavishes praise on 23-year-old Chelsea star after Manchester United draw
Graham Potter heaped praise on Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo after his performance in the draw against Manchester United. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, November 3.
Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring in the 70th minute through a penalty after Robert Sanchez was deemed to have fouled Rasmus Hojlund in the box. Caicedo, however, equalised just four minutes later with an excellent strike. Both sides created plenty of chances and also hit the post once each but couldn't convert them.
Caicedo put in an excellent performance against Manchester United. Apart from the goal, he completed 37/44 passes, made one key pass, and completed 2/3 dribble attempts. He also won 9/17 duels and made three tackles, two clearances, and one interception. (These stats are from Sofascore as of November 4, 11:00 am IST, and are subject to change).
After the game, former Chelsea manager Graham Potter heaped praise on Caicedo, saying (via Football.London):
"He’s a really nice person. Humble, wants to learn and improve and fight for the team. As a human being he’s top, really pleased for him. I think it’s only natural that there’s pressure. The team is trying to function better than it was, he’s come in at £100m or whatever it was and you expect a lot for that type of money.
"Moises isn’t really that type of player. Most of the time he’s the guy who lets other players play better, gets in good positions, can deal with big spaces, wins the ball back. Now you’re seeing the quality that he has."
Caicedo made 16 appearances under Graham Potter during their time together at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on his side's performance in draw against Manchester United
Chelsea came into the game against Manchester United on the back of an EFL Cup Round of 16 elimination at the hands of Newcastle United. Meanwhile, the Red Devils beat Leicester City 5-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
At Old Trafford on Sunday, there was little to separate the two sides. The Blues had 54% possession and had 3/12 attempts on target while United had 4/11 attempts on target. After the game, Enzo Maresca shared his thoughts on his side's performance, saying (via Football.London):
"We knew it was a difficult game for many reasons. We scored, we came back. We are happy because we knew how difficult it would be. The [United] players want to prove they're good enough. A new manager with different ideas so we had to prepare a different way."
With the draw, Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Liverpool. Manchester United, meanwhile, are 13th.