FPL comments: Bless updates, Slot on Salah + XG Defying Caicedo

A pleasant, chaotic game on Stamford Bridge closed the Premier League promotion of the day.

Here are our explorations of Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool.

Lock on Salah + SOB

Three defeats in a week ensured that the side of Arne Slot had registered for the international break in miserable fashion.

The Guardian’s Barney Ronay The Reds described as “Muddled, although still moaning with talent and imprisoned energy.”

That is a pretty good way to describe them at the moment. Bags with potential but on six and sevens, perhaps as a result of too much changing, too early, this summer. You could go forward from behind and choose problems, which is never good: full-backs that have difficulty setting up, Ibrahima Konate‘s (£ 5.5 million) decreases in shape, Alexis Mac Allister (£ 6.3 million) and Alexander Isaac (£ 10.6 million) not fully appropriate, Ryan Gravenberch (£ 5.7 million) push too much up, Florian Wirtz (£ 8.1 million) in poorly defined roles.

That is all finished, the best player of FPL, Mohamed is wrong (£ 14.4 million), is stuck in a funk. At least there are now openings, which were not there before in the season. Wirtz cherished him beautifully for a big chance early in the second half, while Salah then cut the bar minutes later and shot – his trademark movement -. Chances are that you bury him time and again in the past.

He also curled a fantastic cross, with the outside of his boot, on Isak in front of the break, where the Swede nodded.

Slot was enthusiastic about the positions he took, in the midst of the growing criticism of the aging Egyptian elsewhere.

“He made so much today because he did not play during the week if he missed the chances because he missed a little sharpness he could have had if he had played against Galatasaray? We will never know. But he is a human and it is not like every chance he gets is always a goal on Mohamed Salah

As far as Isak is concerned, it gets a little better with every game, although still looks short Hugo Ekitike‘s (£ 8.7 million) All -round levels. The Pull-Down Assist of De Swede for Cody Agat (£ 7.5 million) was excellent and his header of Salah’s ‘Trivestra’ Cross passed scary. However, those were his only two accidental involvement of the game.

“The more they play together, the more they will connect. I think you saw that a bit from the start in the second half, but especially after I had to take [Ibrahima] Konate gone because he felt his quad, then Ryan [Gravenberch] Started to play in that position, we could get our attackers much more in promising situations much more than in the first half. ” – Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak

At least it is Manchester United next …

Center-and-half injuries for both clubs

The last that both clubs needed were injuries in the middle of half. Chelsea was already four center backs to Gameweeke 7, while Liverpool simply does not have the depth thanks to a failed pursuit of Marc Guehi (£ 4.8 million) and an ACL injury suffered by Giovanni Li (£ 5.0 million).

So alarm bells then went Konate, Benoit Badiashile (£ 4.4 million) and Josh Acheampong (£ 4.0 million) all went off in the second half.

Fortunately it doesn’t sound that bad, especially for the Chelsea pair.

“The two central defenders, it was just prevention. Because they made a great effort today, but only prevention. We have already spoken with them and they said they are okay, so good for us.” – Willy Caballero

“I don’t know if it is a big injury, but what I know is that he was a little bit and when I asked him, he said he felt his quad a bit. Then, for me, all the alarm bells go off because you never know if that is going well in another sprint.
“It was also a replacement that I had in mind, maybe for a few minutes or a little later, because the right middle behind had a lot of possession and we had to create from that position. We all know Ryan [Gravenberch] Is pretty good at that.
“It might be okay that he left early enough, but it was clear that I had to take him out because he was limping.” – Arne Slot in Ibrahima Konate

Target machine Caicedo

Moises Caicedo (£ 5.7 million) is, unthinkable, the second in the rankings of the FPL midfielders.

He already has three goals in his name in 2025/26, as much as he succeeded in the last three seasons.

So is this a new role for him, with more attacking surrender? Not real: he has only touched the ball three times in the penalty box this season, while he is the largest XG comments in the competition and has collected only 0.52 expected goals:

Above: The largest XG over -performers of the Premier League this season

Then expect the goals to dry up. On the other hand, as ‘happiness’ as he was with the goals (there was no luck with his fine strike against Liverpool), he has a shame to miss Defcon Points in the last two game week, which completed one contribution on both occasions:

Above: Moises Caicedo’s weekly demolition of defensive contributions

Enzo Fernandez (£ 6.7 million) remains the affordable central midfielder of Chelsea with the greater threat of the goal, at least as long Cole Palmer (£ 10.3 million) is out and he works higher on the field, here a fourth goal of the season is refused by the woodwork.

Speaking of higher in the field, Enzo used Maresca Malo likes it (£ 4.9 million) as a bona fide midfielder next to Caicedo. Perhaps horses for courses and forced due to fitness problems elsewhere, but he did very well.

Joao Pedro (£ 7.7 million) was silent again and was eventually replaced by joint-height FPL Forward Marc Guiu (£ 4.3 million) for his first Chelsea minutes of the season.

Stephen (£ 6.5 million), another late replacement, took the dramatic late winner, meeting Marc Cucurella‘s (£ 6.1 million) Low Cross to give the Spaniard his second assist to the campaign. Defcon Points Emude Cucurella: He finished a short short short on Saturday.