“Key player for us” – Alonso explains second half sub of star man

Xabi Alonso has hailed Moises Caicedo after the midfielder returned from injury against Bournemouth today.

Today was a big win for Chelsea as they beat Bournemouth 5-1, but perhaps even more significant than the win was the return of Moises Caicedo.

In the big picture, having him back for the season is going to make a bigger difference than three points. This was his first start of the season, and the side have struggled without him.

The healthy scoreline meant Xabi Alonso was able to take the midfielder off after just 70 minutes as he continues to work his way back to fitness.

Alonso delighted with Caicedo impact

“The plan was for him not to play the whole game, even though you always want to have Moises on the pitch,” Alonso said.

“But he’s felt well. With him, we have a better midfield area and when you are better in the middle, you have a more complete team. I think that is something to build around. With the players that we have up front, they are solid in defence as well. So, I’m happy that Moises is feeling better because he’s going to be a key player for us. We knew that and we have seen today.”

We’re looking forward to his next game already.

In other news…

Jordan Henderson ran the show against Bournemouth this afternoon, and his stats from the game were brilliant.

Chelsea scored three in the second half to win the game, all of them were lovely, especially Jordan Henderson’s free kick,

The two goals in the first half were pretty excellent too, with Henderson and Rogers getting their first each.