Latest news with #MoisesCaicedo
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maresca weighs up whether Caicedo and João Pedro could start against PSG
Enzo Maresca has discussed Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro's chances of featuring in our starting XI for Sunday's Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Chelsea's Club World Cup celebrations: Moises Caicedo is back leading the karaoke, stars party with Tom Brady and Cole Palmer's passionate greeting to fans
Moises Caicedo was at the heart of Chelsea 's celebrations once again as the Blues toasted their FIFA Club World Cup success at a party in New York. Enzo Marseca's side earned a surprise 3-0 victory over reigning champions PSG on Sunday night to win the first edition of the expanded 32-team tournament. Cole Palmer scored twice in the first half before providing the assist for Joao Pedro to net the third in the final. After Chelsea were awarded the trophy by US President Donald Trump, who bizarrely remained at the heart of the presentation, Blues stars celebrated on the pitch with members of their family. Enzo Marseca's jubilant squad then returned to their team hotel, where hundreds of fans had gathered to toast the newly crowned world champions. Palmer was among the first players off the bus, with the player of the tournament giving an uncharacteristically emotional reaction. The 23-year-old, still wearing his match shirt and medal was seen clutching his Golden Ball award as he walked towards fans. Palmer roared in their direction and gestured for them to continue to make noise as his team-mates continued to disembark. Chelsea players and staff were then treated to a private event to toast their success and celebrate a successful end to a gruelling 11-month season. The season had seen Maresca lead Chelsea to Champions League qualification and Conference League success, before triumphing at the Club World Cup. As he had done in Poland after the Conference League, footage from the celebrations showed Caicedo leading the squad with kareoke. The Blues star was seen holding a microphone and singing, with the midfielder sporting sunglasses and a t-shirt emblazoned with the words 'world champions' and the number 25. Chelsea stars were joined at the event by NFL legend Tom Brady, the seven-time SuperBowl winner. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall asked 'What are we?' before adding emojis of the world and a trophy. Brady, who is now a minority owner of Birmingham City, had watched the final from the stands at the MetLife Stadium and had been seen in Trump's box. Enzo Fernandez and new Chelsea signing Dario Essugo were among those pictured with Brady during their afterparty. Reflecting on being part of the success so earlier in his Chelsea career, Essugo wrote on social media 'Not even in my dreams, thanks GOD for so many blessings'. Fernandez had shared an Instagram post with Brady and labelled him as the 'GOAT', while a separate post wrote 'CHELSEA !!! CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD'. Chelsea stars showed off their winners medals in numerous photos, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall asking 'What are we?' before adding emojis of the world and a trophy. Levi Colwill wrote 'Winners win' in his social media post, with the defender also seen biting his medal. The 22-year-old had been bullish about Chelsea's chances of downing PSG on the eve of the final and had been proved right as the Blues dismantled the European champions. Head coach Enzo Maresca, the mastermind of Chelsea's success, was also pictured with members of staff at the New York party. Footage shared by Chelsea from their dressing room also contained a short interview with recent signing Joao Pedro. The recent £60m signing from Brighton has made a stunning start to his Chelsea career, having scored twice in the semi-finals before netting their third in the final. 'Joao, you were on holiday and now you are a world champion,' he was told in the clip. Pedro responded 'What can I say, this is Chelsea.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Club World Cup final: How Chelsea replicated PSG's pressing tactics with an added long ball twist to beat UEFA Champions League winners in their own game
Ahead of the Club World Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, experts predicted a one-sided affair. And it turned out to be just that. But not exactly in the way that everyone would have thought. In a glorious flipping of the script, everyone's favourites PSG with their sleek brand of football were torn apart by the much less fancied London club. In a way, they out-PSG'd PSG, employing their own weapon against them – the high press. With the pressure of winning the final all on PSG, Chelsea started the match much like the current UEFA Champions League winners- running all over the field and giving opponents no room to manoeuvre. It was as if the two teams had suddenly swapped souls. Chelsea were suddenly the fast paced, gegenpressing side while PSG, after demolishing Real Madrid deploying the same brand of football, looked unsure for the very first time in the tournament. This uncertainty permeating through the PSG ranks was what ultimately helped Chelsea catch them unawares. With the pressure off them, the Blues started with a newfound vigour, snapping at their more fancied opponents' heels as they did not let PSG settle on the ball. More often than not, PSG have relied on this same tactic where they pressed opponents from the get go, got an early goal and then piled up the pressure. On Sunday, Chelsea were one step ahead with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Reece James cutting off PSG's supply line to start their own attack. With Chelsea shutting down PSG's midfield engine, the well-oiled machine hit a snag. That is where the current UEFA Conference League winners employed their lethal counter and long balls with Cole Palmer and new boy Joa Pedro right at the heart of it. French full back Malo Gusto, meanwhile, created all sorts of nuisance on the wings as PSG's Nuno Mendes was caught out of position at inopportune moments as the French champions looked to find a way through the compact Chelsea defence. Forever first. Forever iconic. @ChelseaFC | #FIFACWC — FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) July 14, 2025 The need to press high was what ultimately unravelled PSG's defence with Gusto getting a free rein to charge down the right wing and going deep inside the opponent's box. He tried a shot which was blocked and he ultimately fed the ball to Palmer who finished exquisitely with his left foot to give Chelsea the lead in 22 mins. The finish of the second goal was almost a carbon copy of the first as Palmer ran through a spent PSG midfield, cut in from the right, pulled off a majestic feint and with another left-footed strike found the back of the net in the 30th min. A lot of eyebrows were raised when Chelsea had snapped up Palmer for £40 million from Manchester City in September 2023 with a lot of the London club's recent signings imploding. The boy from Wythenshawe, Manchester was thought to be another such costly mistake. But Palmer burst into life as soon as he switched the shade of blue of his jersey, banging in 27 goals and 15 assists in what turned out to be his breakout season. The expectations were through the roof ahead of the 2024/25 season but a bit of a dry patch had the detractors sharpening their knives again. The 23-year-old ultimately finished the season with 15 goals and 9 assists in the EPL but what really shut up the naysayers was his performance in the Conference League final and now the Club World Cup final. With Pedro as Chelsea's new target man, Palmer has looked way more comfortable feeding the ball to the Brazilian rather than a misfiring Nicolas Jackson. And they have linked up just twice since Pedro's £60m move from Brighton in July 2025. The third goal that sealed PSG's fate was the result of the very same combination with Palmer wrong footing the PSG defence with an intelligent pass to Pedro who had run behind and finished it off with a deft chip over Gianluigi Donnarumma with the score 3-0 going into half time. With the Palmer-Pedro combination, Chelsea might be on their way in duplicating their very own Kevin de Bruyne-Erling Haaland partnership which bodes well for their title challenge next season. With players like Liam Delap also in contention and Enzo Maresca at the wheel, the Chelsea Project might just be coming into fruition. PSG, meanwhile, will have to go back to the drawing board with their long and exhausting season finally coming to a close with a boatload of trophies, something that was unimaginable when their talismanic forward Kylian Mbappe left at the start of the season. Coach Luis Enrique will now need to find a way around the weaknesses that Chelsea laid bare, especially against long balls, ahead of the new season.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Chelsea v PSG: Team news
Star midfielder Moises Caicedo is fit to face Paris Saint-Germain but there will be questions on how long he can last after twisting his ankle in the midfielder Romeo Lavia is fit enough for the bench as Joao Pedro is preferred to either Nicolas Jackson or Liam Delap up St-Germain remain unchanged after a 4-0 semi-final win over Real XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, James; Neto, Fernandez, Palmer; Joao Jorgensen, Penders, Slonina, Sarr, Anselmino, Adarabioyo, Acheampong, Dewsbury-Hall, Andrey Santos, Lavia, Guiu, Nkunku, George, Jackson, XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Neves, Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Sofonov, Tenas, Kimbepmbe, Kamara, Zaire-Emery, Lee, Gabriel Moscardo, Mayulu, Mbaye, Barcola, Goncalo Ramos.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea Starting XI vs PSG: Confirmed Team News and Predicted Lineup
Caicedo Boosts Chelsea Midfield Ahead of Club World Cup Final vs PSG Caicedo fit for final Chelsea received a timely tonic before Sunday's Club World Cup showpiece against PSG as Moises Caicedo returned to full training. The Ecuadorian twisted an ankle late in the semi-final victory over Fluminense, yet completed an intensive session at Cobham and then boarded the flight to New Jersey. 'Moises is an important player for us,' said Enzo Maresca ahead of the game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, 'I hope we can have him on Sunday.' His energy next to Enzo Fernandez should steady midfield rhythms and offer the defensive screen required against PSG's quick transitions. Premier League Everton v Chelsea Moisí s Caicedo of Chelsea and Enzo Maresca manager of Chelsea after the Premier League match Everton vs Chelsea at Goodison Park, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 22nd December 2024 Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images Liverpool Goodison Park Merseyside United Kingdom Copyright: xMarkxCosgrove/NewsxImagesx Advertisement Selection dilemmas in attack Noni Madueke has departed the Chelsea base, travelling back to London to finalise a £52 million switch to Arsenal, so Maresca's forward options have altered again. Liam Delap, suspended for the 2-0 semi-final, is available, yet Joao Pedro's two-goal debut makes a persuasive case to keep the Brazilian in the central role. Maresca must decide whether to move Pedro wide and reintroduce Delap or maintain the striker who fired Chelsea into this final. Defensive reinforcements return Levi Colwill's suspension is served, adding authority to a back line already boosted by the form of Malo Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah. Romeo Lavia remains a concern after missing the quarter-final against Benfica, while teenage arrivals Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian are cup-tied having represented other sides earlier in the tournament. Predicted line-up, 4-2-3-1, reads Sanchez, Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Palmer, Pedro, Delap. Advertisement Kick off details MetLife, renowned for its partisan atmosphere, will host an 8 pm BST start on Sunday 13 July 2025, live on Channel 5 and DAZN. Chelsea supporters expect silverware, PSG followers believe Kylian Mbappé's pace will prove decisive. What is certain is that whoever controls midfield tempo will likely collect the trophy and all-important global bragging rights.
