The $146 million midfielder made a mistake that made Chelsea lose
In the 48th minute, Caicedo caught the ball near the center circle and was approached by two Nottingham players. The ball fell to Taiwo Awoniyi and this player poked through Thiago Silva's needle so that Anthony Elanga could escape and land in the right corner, out of reach of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Caicedo's mistake made Chelsea receive their second defeat this season, after a 1-3 loss at West Ham. The remaining two matches, "The Blues" won rookie Luton Town 3-0 and drew Liverpool 2-2. The army under Mauricio Pochettino dropped to 11th with four points, while Nottingham rose to ninth with six points.
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 from the 77th minute.
This summer, Caicedo moved to Chelsea for a total cost of 146 million USD, including 127 million USD fixed and 19 million USD as extra fees depending on individual performance. The Ecuadorian midfielder thereby became the most expensive player in English football history when he broke the old record of $ 137 million 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, losing 1-3 to West Ham, the 21-year-old midfielder also fouled Emerson Palmieri in the penalty area, causing Chelsea to concede a goal in injury time.
In the match against Nottingham on September 2, 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 finished 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.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea controlled the ball 75%, shot 20 times but only had two shots on target - equal to the visitors. One of those two shots on target came in the 86th minute, when Silva caught the ball in the box and then shot from a tight angle, failing to beat Turner.
Lack of efficiency in attack, Chelsea also almost conceded another goal in the fifth minute of injury time. From Mykhailo Mudryk's error, Elanga led the ball from home to break into the Chelsea 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 room for the national team, Chelsea will visit Bournemouth on September 17 and Nottingham will return home to welcome rookie Burnley one 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).
