Chelsea secured a UEFA Champions League win over Pafos at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening which was as important as it was hard-fought, moving us up the table into the automatic qualification spots to progress directly to the last 16.

We were made to work hard for the three points by the Cypriot team making their debut in the competition proper, as our efforts to convert our dominance into a lead were repeatedly thwarted.

Caicedo was denied by the Pafos goalkeeper on several occasions, but ultimately it was the midfielder who provided the decisive difference, heading in the winner after Malo Gusto’s corner was flicked on by Benoit Badiashile.

That left our head coach a happy man at the final whistle, after securing a victory on his own Champions League debut.

‘Moi is an outstanding player, a world-class midfield player,’ said Rosenior, after his team’s win over the Cypriots at the Bridge.

‘I don’t know how many headers he has scored in his career, but we are always a threat on set-plays.’

Caicedo’s goal was no one off, though, as the Ecuador international has been increasingly showing how much he can contribute in attacking positions, especially when it comes to breaking down stubborn opponents, in addition to his obvious defensive qualities in that deep midfield role for the Blues.

His five goals in all competitions this season is just one shy of his personal best in a campaign – achieved with Independiente del Valle in his final year before departing his homeland in 2020 – and only Estevao Willian has scored more in the Champions League for Chelsea so far in 2025/26.

‘When you play against a low block your pivot players can be higher up the pitch,’ the Chelsea head coach explained.

‘He’s scored a couple from outside the box this season and hopefully he can keep chipping in with goals to win us more games of football.’

Caicedo’s latest goal puts us in prime position to skip the play-off round in the Champions League and qualify straight for the last 16. We have one more match to secure that spot, when we travel to Italy to take on Napoli in our last league-phase fixture next Wednesday.