Jamie Carragher has apologized to Chelsea fans after excluding Moises Caicedo from this season’s squad. The former Liverpool defender revealed this season’s standout eleven on Monday Night Football, despite Caicedo’s notable absence. Carragher selected Declan Rice, Granit Xhaka and Bruno Fernandes as his midfield trio.
Explaining the rationale for this, Carragher said: “Formation-wise, we went with a standard 4-2-3-1, so we brought in Xhaka and Rice. The other one we brought in was Caicedo, but this was a really difficult game. We didn’t want to bring in all three because I don’t think they’re defensive, but we want to have attacking midfield players in there.”
“I’m obviously getting Bruno Fernandes. I’ve said that I think Rice is better than Caicedo. But I felt that Xhaka’s impact this season was the biggest impact of the contract and the impact on the team.”
“I feel he is very important for Sunderland, so I felt he has to be in the team. So I feel sorry for the Chelsea fans. They seem to be doing well! But no, we couldn’t find space for Caicedo for those reasons.”
“Also, we had to bring in Bruno Fernandes. They will miss him, but he is injured so he won’t miss too many games.”
“But I mean, if you look at his numbers, I think he still creates the most chances in the Premier League and probably has the most assists, or definitely very close.
“He is an outstanding chance creator in the Premier League, even when playing from deeper positions.”
Carragher also explained why he did not select Reece James at right-back, saying: “The right-back position is probably the most difficult.”
“I almost put in (Julian) Timber, who I’m a big fan of. Also, Reece James, he’s been outstanding, but a lot of his football has been played in central midfield. But every time I see this guy it’s amazing.”
“I would like to add that he was part of a very strong defensive unit until the last few games, when he was not involved. But I think he has three goals and a few assists as well, so I think he is great – Daniel Muñoz.”
And when asked to name his top three players so far this season, Carragher said: “The players that stand out right away are definitely Haaland and Rice, and I think Rodgers is kind of right at the tail of the court for them.”
