Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has taken a thinly veiled dig at Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics during his one-season at Stamford Bridge. Caicedo claimed the manager always instructed him to run and cover as much ground as possible, which made things difficult for him.
Mauricio Pochettino Lost His Job After One Season At Chelsea
One of the most highly-rated managers in the world, Pochettino, came on as Chelsea’s head coach before the start of the 2023-24 season. He inherited a star-studded squad, featuring Enzo Fernandez, Raheem Sterling, and Mykhailo Mudryk, and bolstered it further by adding a few more top-rated players.
Despite having one of the most valuable squads in the division, Pochettino could not make Chelsea competitive, with him only discovering the winning formula toward the end of the season. The Pensioners ended in sixth place in the Premier League rankings, lost the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool, and could not go beyond the semi-finals in the FA Cup.
Disappointed with the trophyless campaign, the Chelsea hierarchy dismissed the Argentine tactician at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Moises Caicedo Did Not Enjoy His Game Under Mauricio Pochettino
Caicedo, who joined the club for a whopping €116 million ($125.73 million), was Pochettino’s biggest signing last summer. The former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder came into the club with a big reputation but could not live up to expectations. Now, in an interview with Radio La Red, Caicedo revealed the reason behind his struggles.
The 22-year-old took shots at Pochettino’s tactics at Chelsea, implying the former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager preferred physicality over strategy.
The defensive midfielder said (via GOAL):
“At Brighton, it was all tactical, just with the ball; tactical, tactical, tactical. And at Chelsea, it was run, run, run and it was very difficult for me.
“With Chelsea, I always ran a bit more and with Brighton we almost always had the ball, with Chelsea it was a different football and we had to run more.”
Caicedo played 48 games in his debut season at Chelsea, scoring once and providing four assists. It will be interesting to see how he fares under Enzo Maresca in the 2024-25 campaign.
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