Ally McCoist says two Chelsea players who frustrated him last season are now playing miles better

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Ally McCoist has highlighted the form of two Chelsea players so far this season as a contributing factor to why things are looking a lot more positive right now at Stamford Bridge.

We’ve seen over time that Chelsea have put together a talented and young squad of players, but things haven’t gelled immediately under this ownership. Thankfully, it’s been a really encouraging start to the 2024/25 campaign under a new manager.

Blues head coach Enzo Maresca, 44, is quickly overseeing both positive results and performances to get the fanbase on his side.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	6	5	0	1	12	2	10	15
2	Man CityManchester City	6	4	2	0	14	6	8	14
3	ArsenalArsenal	6	4	2	0	12	5	7	14
4	ChelseaChelsea	6	4	1	1	15	7	8	13
5	Aston VillaAston Villa	6	4	1	1	12	9	3	13
6	FulhamFulham	6	3	2	1	8	5	3	11

There’s so many positives with the Blues right now, especially after Saturday’s latest Premier League win at home to Brighton. Interestingly, speaking on The Overlap last week, Jamie Carragher admitted that Chelsea have surprised him this season.

• READ MORE: Five things we learned from Chelsea’s 4-2 victory against Brighton last weekend

Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez impressing

TalkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist has pinpointed the improvement of midfield pair Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez as key to Chelsea’s progress this season.

McCoist told talkSPORT: “I thought Chelsea completely underachieved last year. I wasn’t happy at all with the level of performance from two midfielders, Caicedo and Fernandez. I made a comment a couple of times that for a quarter of a billion pounds I’m looking for a lot more. I don’t think it’s any coincidence there’s been a massive improvement in their play.”

Chelsea midfield is ticking

We agree that both Caicedo and Fernandez look impressive right now in the centre of the park.

Fernandez arrived in west London for a mega £107m deal (BBC) from Benfica midway through the 2022/23 season. The 23-year-old central midfielder has had ups and downs in his Blues career to date, but he’s catching the eye this campaign as the stand-in captain.

Meanwhile, Caicedo joined from Brighton last summer in a £115m transfer (BBC). Despite a slow start for the 22-year-old defensive midfielder in Chelsea colours, the way he’s performed this calendar year highlights why he cost so much.

There’s the added competition of Romeo Lavia that threatens to disrupt this combination, but the Caicedo-Fernandez partnership is so effective on and off the ball when it’s in the mood.