The $146 million midfielder made a mistake, Chelsea lost again in the English Premier League
In the 48th minute, Caicedo caught a foul ball near the center circle and was approached and stolen by two Nottingham players. Taiwo Awoniyi then poked through midfielder Thiago Silva, allowing striker Anthony Elanga to escape and place his heart in the right corner, out of reach of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Caicedo's mistake caused Chelsea to suffer their second defeat this season, after a 1-3 loss at West Ham. The remaining two matches, they won rookie Luton Town 3-0 and drew Liverpool 1-1. The army under Mauricio Pochettino dropped to 11th with four points, ranking below Nottingham.
Caicedo moved to Chelsea this summer for a total cost of 146 million USD, including 127 million USD fixed and 19 million USD in additional fees depending on personal performance. The Ecuadorian midfielder thereby became the most expensive player in English football history, breaking the old record of 137 million USD that Arsenal spent to buy midfielder Delcan Rice from West Ham in mid-July.
But Caicedo has yet to provide an assist or score in three games for Chelsea. In his debut match against West Ham, the 21-year-old midfielder also fouled Emerson Palmieri in the penalty area, causing Chelsea to concede a goal in injury time. Against Nottingham, Caicedo started, touched the ball 69 times, lost the ball ten times, had a shot blocked once, passed 89% accurately but had no decisive pass (key pass). He made way for Dutch player Ian Maatsen in the 77th minute.
Another Chelsea rookie, Nicolas Jackson - who was bought from Villarreal for a fee of 40 million USD - also disappointed. In the 80th minute, Raheem Sterling penetrated the penalty area, sloping close to the touchline and then released it out of reach of goalkeeper Matt Turner. But in front of an empty goal, Jackson shot and sent the ball over the bar.
The Senegal striker also squandered a good opportunity in the first half. In the 39th minute, Conor Gallagher poked a hole in the middle, but Jackson pushed the ball wrong and then hit the corner, which was blocked by center-back Scott McKenna.
The whole match, Chelsea controlled the ball 75%, finished 20 times but only two shots on target - equivalent to the away team. One of them came in the 86th minute, when Silva picked up the ball in the box and then shot from a tight angle, failing to beat Turner.
Ineffective in attack, Chelsea almost conceded another goal in the fifth minute of injury time. From Mykhailo Mudryk's foul pass, Elanga dribbled the ball into Chelsea's penalty area. He did not pass the cross to his teammates, but shot straight from a tight angle, but the ball went right into Sanchez's position.
After a two-week break to make way for the national team, Chelsea will be a guest of Bournemouth on September 17, and Nottingham will return to the home ground to receive rookie Burnley a day later.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Disasi, Colwill, Silva, Gusto (Mudryk 77), Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo (Maatsen 77), Gallagher (Palmer 62), Chilwell (Madueke 62), Sterling, Jackson.
Nottingham: Turner, Boly, Worrall, Danilo (Elanga 45), Aurier (Montiel 72), McKenna, Yates, Aina (Kouyate 73), Gibbs-White, Mangala (Tavares 72), Awoniyi (Wood 65).
