Pochettino Reveals Why He Played “Tired” Fernández, Caicedo Against Arsenal

Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández and Ecuadorian defensive midfielder Moisés Caicedo flew from South America to England on Wednesday but Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino decided to use them against Arsenal on Saturday.

Caicedo flew back to London from the October international break after playing in Ecuador’s 2-1 win over Bolivia on October 13 and the 0-0 draw with Colombia on Wednesday, October 18. Also, Fernández was on duty for Argentina as the reigning World Cup winners defeated Paraguay 1-0 on October 13 and beat Peru 2-0 on Wednesday.

They made the long flight from South America to London and went straight to prepare for the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Interestingly, they started the game and played for 90 minutes. Even though the two players who cost Chelsea over £100 million each didn’t do much in the game, coach Pochettino decided to keep them on the pitch.

After the game which saw Arsenal come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Chelsea, Pochettino revealed to reporters that he had to use Fernández and Caicedo in the game because he didn’t want to offend the owners of the club, Todd Boehly, and his consortium.

“It’s crazy for players to come back from South America on Wednesday and play on Saturday. Enzo and Caicedo were tired”, Pochettino said as quoted by Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano earlier today, October 23.

“But if I say: ok, I’m going to give them a rest and not play… you will kill me, for sure – and then the owner also!”.

Chelsea are currently sitting in the 10th spot on the league table with 12 points in 9 games after three wins, three defeats, and three draws. Their next league game is against Brentford at Stamford Bridge at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 28.