Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo has claimed it’s “too early” to label the Blues as title contenders, despite their thrilling victory over Liverpool at the weekend. Despite a shaky start to the season, Chelsea are now just four points behind the reigning Premier League champions, and five behind leaders Arsenal, thanks to Estevao Willian’s last-minute winner at Stamford Bridge.
After finishing fourth last season, head coach Enzo Maresca is aiming to take his team even further this year, with some speculating that the youthful squad could challenge the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. However, Caicedo, who scored the opening goal in Saturday’s match, has downplayed such claims, while also outlining the team’s ambitions for the season. “It is too early to say we are going to win,” said Caicedo. “For sure we want to win the Premier League. We will take it step by step because the Premier League is tough, but we are going to do our best.”
“We’ve shown our quality, we’ve shown our character on the pitch. We want to continue this moment.” While Caicedo’s stunning strike sent Stamford Bridge into a frenzy, all eyes have been on match-winner Estevao, who netted his first goal for Chelsea since his summer move from Palmeiras.
The 18-year-old is one of the Premier League’s most promising talents and has quickly found his feet in west London. Although his last-minute goal was his first competitive goal in English football, his performances have been impressive so far. Chelsea are taking a cautious approach as he adjusts to a new club, country and culture.
When asked about Estevao’s impact against Liverpool, Caicedo said: “It’s a great feeling that Estevao scored, he is doing a great job here. We are happy with him. You can see on the pitch, even in training, he is so good, he is showing his quality.
“We have tried to help him because the Premier League is so different and he’s making an impact here. We are so happy with him here.”
Chelsea won’t be back in action until October 18 due to the international break, when they’ll head to Nottingham Forest before hosting Ajax and then Sunderland both at home.