"I just want to say thank you to him" - Joao Pedro says he owes Chelsea teammate a dinner after 1-0 win against Tottenham

Chelsea star Joao Pedro has said that he owes Moises Caicedo a dinner after their 1-0 win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Ecuador international helped him break his eight-game goalscoring drought.

The Blues faced their London rivals Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, November 1. They dominated the game and secured a comfortable 1-0 win, courtesy of the solitary goal from Pedro. Caicedo stole the ball from Micky van de Ven and set up the Brazilian to score in the 34th minute.

Pedro hadn't scored in his last eight appearances for Chelsea, failing to provide a goal contribution in his last seven. After the game, he told the reporters (h/t GOAL):

"Moses, everyone knows, is a top, top player. It is a pleasure to play with him, and when he pass to me on the pitch, in the half-time I said I need to invite you to dinner, so yeah I just want to say thank you to him. Thanks to the team for the support. I scored but I still need to improve. I had a lot of chances, but we won the game." "I think I needed this goal after a long time I don't score for Chelsea and I think the team expect (goals) from me, so I just want to say thank you to Moses, thank you to the team and now we need to enjoy this victory," he added.

Chelsea signed Pedro for a reported fee of £60 million from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer. He's scored six goals and provided three assists in 12 games across competitions for them.

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Enzo Maresca lauds Moises Caicedo after Chelsea's win over Tottenham

Moises Caicedo put in an excellent performance against Tottenham, even aside from his assist. He completed 31/36 passes, making two key passes, won 2/2 tackles, won 4/8 duels, made five clearances, and had seven recoveries (via Sofascore).

After the game, Enzo Maresca heaped praise on Caicedo, saying (h/t Chelseafc.com):

"I said many times, the best thing from Moi, for sure, we judge him inside the pitch, but he's so humble, he's such a good guy, he's always there to help everyone. And I just said to the television interviewer that for me, him and [Manchester City's] Rodri, in this moment, they are the two best defensive midfielders in the world."

The west London side signed Caicedo for a reported fee of £115 million from Brighton in 2023. He's recorded 112 appearances for them, contributing seven goals and 11 assists.

Edited by Aditya Singh