"It’s not the same" - Moises Caicedo explains surprise reason behind Chelsea's poor form in pre-season
Moises Caicedo has explained the reason behind Chelsea's poor form on their pre-season tour. He blamed the pitches in the US, claiming they aren't as good as in Europe.
The Blues started their pre-season tour with a 2-2 draw against League One side Wrexham at the Levi's Stadium in California. They were then decimated 4-1 against Celtic at the Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana. They got their only win of the pre-season, beating Club America 3-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia.
Chelsea then lost 4-2 against Manchester City at the Ohio Stadium before losing 2-1 against Real Madrid at Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina. Ahead of their final clash against the Spanish giants, Moises Caicedo was asked the reason behind his side's struggles. He answered (via Metro):
"It’s not the same to play as in Europe as the pitches are so good in Europe and here they are not so good.
"The pitches are so dry, we know we are players with amazing qualities but sometimes it is not you, it’s the pitches."
Caicedo, meanwhile, joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion for a British record fee of £115 million. However, he largely struggled in his first season, scoring one goal and providing four assists in 48 games across competitions.
Pep Guardiola and Enzo Maresca also complained about the pitch after Manchester City beat Chelsea
The Cityzens beat the Blues 4-2 at the Ohio Stadium on August 3. Erling Haaland scored via a penalty in the fourth minute before adding another just one minute later. He completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute to make it 4-0 after Oscar Bobb had scored in the 55th minute.
Raheem Sterling (59') and Noni Madueke (89') pulled things back a bit for Chelsea, whose performance was marred with individual errors. After the game, however, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola blamed the pitch for those errors from the Blues. He said (via Tribuna):
"This happened due to the pitch conditions. At Stamford Bridge, this would not happen."
When asked about Guardiola's comments in his post-match press conference, Enzo Maresca said (via Goal):
"Sometimes when we say something, it can sound like an excuse so I don’t want to say this but for sure, the pitch doesn’t help in the way we want to play because the ball has to be quick. This kind of pitch slows down the ball."
Chelsea will now end their pre-season at Stamford Bridge against Inter Milan on August 11. They will then host Manchester City in their 2024-25 Premier League opener seven days later.