Chelsea assistant coach Willy Caballero believes Moises Caicedo did not deserve to be booked against Bournemouth, which sees the midfielder suspended against Manchester City.
Caicedo will not be able to play at the Etihad on Sunday after being shown a yellow card in the fourth minute for a foul on Adrien Truffert. It was the midfielder’s fifth booking of the season, which triggers a one-match suspension.
It is not the first suspension the Ecuadorian midfielder has been handed this season. Caicedo was shown a straight red card against Arsenal in November, and subsequently missed Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat at Leeds United.
Chelsea renew rivalries with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on January 14, in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, and Caicedo will again be absent due to picking up three yellow cards in the competition.
Caballero conducted Chelsea’s post-match press conference after the Bournemouth draw with Enzo Maresca feeling unwell, and he gave his reaction to Caicedo picking up his latest suspension.
“Very frustrated, because it was the first foul in the game and it was close to us [in the dugout],” Caballero said. “We looked at the foul more than once and it doesn't look like a yellow. But it's done now, so we're going to miss a very important player.
“But we need to, from now on, start to think who will be the player that replaces Moi and, of course, it's a big loss.”
Caballero added: “But it is the same as when we missed Cole [Palmer], when we missed Liam [Delap], when we miss any player, because all of them are very important for us.”
Chelsea’s draw with Bournemouth left them with just one league win in seven matches and brought to an end a tough December period for the Blues.
“We have to improve that [our poor start to the game], and we go the next couple of games and also the whole second half to improve that,” Caballero said.
“In another view, it means that we are creating, we are scoring goals and we are opening the scoring sometimes, which is good.
“But we need to manage and find a way to win those points, kill those games, because they are the games that we are going to need [to win] to achieve our target.”
