Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has come in for criticism after picking up his fifth booking of the season just minutes into Tuesday's Premier League encounter with Bournemouth. The yellow card brings an automatic one-match ban, ruling Caicedo out of Chelsea's next game against title-chasing Manchester City and leaving Blues fans frustrated with their midfield star.
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Caicedo ruled out of Man City game
Caicedo was named in the Chelsea starting XI for the clash against Bournemouth and needed just minutes to make his mark on the match albeit for the wrong reasons. The midfielder went into the referee's notebook just minutes after kick-off for a foul on Adrien Truffert. Caicedo will now miss Chelsea's next match which just happens to be a crunch Premier League fixture against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The loss of Caicedo will be a huge blow for Enzo Maresca and his side as he's a key player for the Blues and has been a virtual ever present so far this season.
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Chelsea fans rage at Caicedo
Caicedo's booking did not go down well with Chelsea fans who have been left frustrated at seeing their midfielder ruled out of such a crucial game.
Chelsea fan @theshedend2 posted on X: "Caicedo man are you stupid?" and @Drayco196 added: "Caicedo had to have known he was on the brink of suspension. What a stupid yellow card to receive. Now he'll miss the city match. Stupid stupid stupid."
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Maresca denies Chelsea have discipline problem
Caicedo's ban continues a theme of disciplinary issues for Chelsea so far this season. The Blues have seen Joao Pedro, Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Liam Delap and Malo Gusto all sent off this season, while manager Enzo Maresca has also served a touchline ban.
Maresca has been asked about his team's disciplinary issues but insists he's proud of his players.
"Listen, the club this morning showed me a comment from some of you that said the team reflect the manager and I'm very proud of that," he told reporters. "Because of the way the team is doing. The youngest squad in the Premier League. You also have to allow them some mistakes in terms of growing. I think, yes, we have yellow cards, yes, we had some red cards, but I like to analyse different situations. For sure, it's something we can do better."
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Caicedo 'one of the world's best'
There's no doubt that losing Caicedo is a huge blow for Chelsea. Maresca has already described him as one of the world's best already this season. He said in November: "Moi, I think he's showing how good he is. He's top, I said many times, the best thing from Moi for sure, we judge him inside the pitch, but he's so humble, he's so good guy, he's always there to help everyone. For me, him and [Manchester City's] Rodri, in this moment they are the two best defending midfielders in the world."
