Chelsea , nicknamed the "Blues," defeated Paphos 1-0 in a crucial Champions League match in the seventh round, thanks to a header from Caicedo . Ecuadorian star Caicedo stated that the team must perform better in the game to secure a top-eight finish in the Champions League .

Pedro Neto took a corner in the 78th minute, Wesley Fofana headed the ball across, and Caicedo headed it in to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

Chelsea ultimately defeated Paphos 1-0 at home. With this crucial three points, Chelsea now sits in 8th place in the Champions League standings with 13 points.

Chelsea midfielder Caicedo, 24, said: "This was a very important goal for the team, and I'm really happy that we won the game. It was a very tough game, but the team played very well. I don't often score with my head, but it was my turn in this game, and I'm really happy to have scored."

"It's not easy to break through the opponent's defense, but we need to control the pace of the game, and we did that very well, which is very important to us."

It's worth mentioning that Caicedo was named Man of the Match in this game.

When discussing his role as a senior player on the team, Caicedo said, "Many people tell me I'm the leader of the team, but I don't talk much in the locker room. I prefer to let my performance speak for itself on the field or in daily training. This is important because they train very hard every day because we need to keep getting better in every game."

Celades is proud of Paphos

On the other hand, Chelsea will face Crystal Palace in the next round of the Premier League, and in the 8th round of the Champions League, they will travel to face Conte's Napoli. Rosseneil's team must win 3 points to advance directly to the round of 16.

Caicedo added, "We will continue to move forward. We have one more game to play to ensure the team secures a top-eight finish. The team is fully prepared, and we will continue to work hard."

In addition, Paphos manager Celades said in an interview, "I am very proud of the players; they performed exceptionally well defensively. Coming here to play against one of the best teams in the world like Chelsea is very difficult in itself. Being able to keep them out until the 78th minute was entirely due to the players' excellent performance."

"The Champions League is the world's premier competition, and Chelsea needs to win to finish in the top eight. We know it will be tough, but we have a plan, and we are very close to taking something away from here."

Celades also said, "We tried to create chances on the counter-attack and hit the post once in the first half. We really tried, which is why I'm proud, because the players performed really well."

Image source: Internet