LiveScore Daily: Caicedo admits to feeling the pressure at Chelsea

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Settling in

Moises Caicedo admits he has struggled to deal with the pressure of his big-money move from Brighton to Chelsea.

The Blues agreed to pay their Premier League rivals a staggering £115million to prise the Ecuador international, 22, from the Amex last summer.

He struggled to hit the ground running in Mauricio Pochettino's side and was widely criticised for a string of below-par performances.

But with Chelsea finally showing signs of improvement, despite remaining inconsistent, Caicedo is gradually starting to win over the club's fans.

Poch's men return to Premier League action on Monday night when Newcastle visit Stamford Bridge — and their star defensive midfielder is in good spirits ahead of the showdown.

Speaking to the club's official website, he said: "At the beginning, I felt the pressure. In my mind, I wanted to show my best football and why the club paid the money for me.

"After that, I started to speak with people who helped me understand that if Chelsea signed me it's because I am worth it. I have kept on playing and I know I have to show my best on the pitch.

"Of course, I haven't played every game well and it was tough at the beginning.

"But now I feel good and feel I am helping the team. I am only thinking about the game and not what people are saying about me."

Ole has faith in Ten Hag

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes under-fire successor Erik ten Hag comes good but claims Jim Ratcliffe is unlikely to have a "magic wand" to immediately transform Manchester United's fortunes.

It has been a miserable second season in the hotseat for Ten Hag, whose stuttering side are 11 points off the Premier League's top four and have the FA Cup as their only remaining hope of silverware.

But Ratcliffe's recent minority purchase of the club from the Glazer family offers hope of long-term improvement, with the billionaire also taking control of football operations.

Rumours continue about Ten Hag's future but Solskjaer, who managed the Red Devils from 2018 to 2021, would like to see the Dutchman succeed at Old Trafford.

Speaking on the latest episode of Stick to Football, he said: "I don't think there's a magic wand [at United].

"I hope Erik's going to be successful. We hope he's going to make it but you never know what the new owners are thinking.

"It's about results and consistency the rest of the season."

Klopp successor will be fine

Steve McManaman believes Jurgen Klopp has given whoever replaces him at Liverpool the best platform to succeed.

Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, a friend of ex-Reds winger McManaman, remains the frontrunner as his team edges closer to a first Bundesliga title in their history.

But other contenders remain in the mix and Klopp's successor will know that silverware is a must to satisfy the Anfield faithful.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's showdown with Sparta Prague, 52-year-old McManaman told the Press Association: "It's going to be a really difficult job taking over after Jurgen, with the person he is and the stature he has in the city.

"But on the other hand, the club will be financially healthy and in a good position. It's not as if someone is getting sacked and you have to take over a struggling team.

"He will leave this team at the very top, he will give them the best possible opportunity to succeed — but I don't know who it will be.

"I know Xabi well, he's a mate of mine, so I'm slightly biased but I certainly wouldn't want to put pressure on him.

"He's 18 months into an incredible start of his [managerial] career. Whether it's too soon I don't know. He's got lots of interest.

"He'll choose whatever role he needs to do. The main thing for him is for him to be successful."

United front

Emma Hayes will kick off her reign as boss of the United States Women's team with two games against South Korea.

The first match will take place in Colorado on June 1, with the second in Minnesota three days later.

When the sides last met in October 2021, the US triumphed 6-0.

Hayes, 47, will bring the curtain down on a glittering spell in charge of WSL champions Chelsea at the end of the season before heading to America to take up her new role.

The Tottenham roar

Timo Werner is loving being roared on by the Tottenham faithful.

The German striker, who turned 28 today, failed to find consistency during his previous spell in the Premier League with London rivals Chelsea.

But he is making the most of a second opportunity to shine in the English top flight after joining Spurs on loan from RB Leipzig in January.

And following his first goal for Ange Postecoglou's side in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Werner admits he is relishing the support of his new club's fans.

He told the Tottenham website: "I enjoyed the moment to score my first goal here.

"I wanted to celebrate but when I realised no one was coming over, I knew it was only 1-1 and we had work to do!

"When you have 60,000 fans behind you, you hear them, you feel them, especially after we made it 1-1.

"They also saw we were clearly the better team [against Palace], so they helped us a lot. You could see at 3-1 how everyone was happy and pleased to win this game."

Ban for Jude

Jude Bellingham will sit out Real Madrid's next two LaLiga games after his red card against Valencia last weekend.

The England midfielder, 20, was sent off when he remonstrated with ref Jesus Gil Manzano, who blew for full-time seconds before Bellingham headed in what would have been a winner for Real.

And the Spanish football federation have suspended him for two matches for "attitudes of contempt or disregard towards referees, directors or sports authorities".

Bellingham will miss Sunday's home game with Celta Vigo and the trip to Osasuna on March 16.