Jamie Carragher expressed high praise for Chelsea after their 1-0 victory over London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League. The win was secured by Joao Pedro’s first-half goal, which proved sufficient to separate the two teams in north London and send Chelsea back into the top-four of the league.
Moises Caicedo played a crucial role in creating the opportunity for Pedro’s goal, and Carragher described the £115m signing as an “absolute monster” in Chelsea’s midfield. Despite having several chances to end the game early, Chelsea did not need a second goal as Tottenham struggled to create meaningful opportunities, suffering yet another defeat at home.
Tottenham’s expected goals of 0.05 was their lowest in a Premier League game since Opta began collecting the data in 2012. Carragher was critical of Spurs’ performance, calling them “awful,” but he was impressed by Chelsea’s display, especially highlighting Caicedo’s contribution.
‘This was one of those goals when it’s not about the goalscorer… it’s all about Caicedo,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports commentary. ‘He’s an absolute monster in midfield. He makes challenge after challenge and basically gets Chelsea that goal. It’s absolutely fantastic from Caicedo and exactly what Chelsea have deserved.’
Carragher also compared Caicedo to Declan Rice, stating, ‘I upset Chelsea fans – not for the first time – by saying Declan Rice was just ahead of this man [Caicedo]. But right now we are watching two of the best midfielders in world football, there’s no doubt about that. There’s no shame in being behind Rice, in my eyes. They’re both absolutely fantastic.’
Turning his attention back to the game, Carragher added, ‘The difference between Chelsea and Tottenham on the ball is night and day. Spurs were so poor going forward. They were awful. This is a big result for Chelsea, but a lot for Thomas Frank to ponder. They have a big problem in this stadium.’
Ex-Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp also praised Caicedo, describing his performance against Spurs as “out of this world.” He noted, ‘When I look at Chelsea, at least there’s a bit of excitement and flair. Tottenham just look paceless. They didn’t have any idea how to get up the pitch and it was just too easy for Chelsea.’
Redknapp continued, ‘If we analyse the Premier League this year, there is just one outstanding side. Arsenal are head and shoulders above. The rest are struggling. No-one is finding that consistency and that is why it is up for grabs for Chelsea this season.’
He added, ‘They have confidence and there is an excitement about watching Chelsea, but I have to be honest, any team would have fancied their chances at Tottenham today.’ However, Redknapp was disappointed by his former club’s performance, stating, ‘It didn’t look hard to play against Spurs tonight. That was as easy as it gets. If it was a boxing match, they’d have stopped it. Tottenham were so poor.’
He continued, ‘I actually thought they’d have a real go tonight but that was one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Tottenham. They have won three home games in the last year and I would probably put that as number one because if you flip it to some of the other games, like last season when they lost 4-3, at least they had a real go. They got after teams, it could have gone either way and it was exciting. That today, they never laid a glove on Chelsea. They had no idea to play out, they had no understanding and they were missing challenges. They made it so easy for Chelsea.’
Chelsea and Tottenham are both set for Champions League action in midweek, with the former visiting Qarabag and the latter hosting Copenhagen. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
