Victor Moses

Moses in great form for club and country!

One of the biggest World Cup qualifying matches took place in Africa last week. Nigeria and Algeria, two of the teams that qualified for the last World Cup in Brazil, faced each other in Nigeria. It was the home team that came out on top in a 3-1 win for the Super Eagles. The Man of the Match was Chelsea's Victor Moses, who scored two goals and showed the same great form he has been showing for the Blues this season. Nigeria took the lead in the 25th minute when Moses took advantage of some poor defending. Nigeria extended their lead when Moses's Chelsea teammate, Jon Mikel Obi, scored just before the interval. Algeria played better in the second half and got a goal back when ex-Tottenham midfielder, Nabil Bentaleb, scored. Algeria pressed for an equaliser but were punished by a quick counter-attack by Nigeria in injury time, when Moses scored his second goal of the match.

Fantastic win today and great team performance, always an honour to play for my country! Buzzing to score two goals too!  Victor Moses on Twitter after the match.

Changing positions on the pitch has benefitted Moses

Until this season, Victor Moses had become a bit of a forgotten player at Chelsea. When he stepped off the bench back in August, he was making his first Premier League appearance for Chelsea in over three years! After the team conceded seven goals in three matches earlier in the season, including defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, decided to change the team's formation. Conte decided to play with three central defenders and two wing-backs. Conte decided to make Moses one of his wing-backs and in October, against Hull City, Moses started his first match since May 2013. Chelsea beat Hull 2-0 and have since won the following four Premier League matches; scoring 16 goals and conceding 0! Victor Moses has started all of these matches! Before this season, Moses had always been a winger but this new position has given him a chance to break into the Chelsea first-team and play an important role for the club this season.  

You must have good stamina and quality to play as a wing-back. I ask my wing-backs to do defensive and offensive work. Moses is a great surprise in this aspect.  Antonio Conte, Chelsea manager.

What do we know about Victor Moses?

Victor Moses was born on 12 December 1990 in Lagos, which is not only the biggest city in Nigeria but in all of Africa. Moses moved to the UK when he was 11 years-old as an asylum seeker, after his parents died in Nigeria. He lived with foster parents because he didn't know anybody in the UK. His talent for football was soon easy to see and Crystal Palace was the first professional club to notice it. He played for Palace's youth teams from 2001 and made his first-team debut for the club as a 16-year-old. He played 69 times for Palace in the Championship before signing for Wigan Athletic, which was then a Premier League club. After impressing in the Premier League with Wigan, Chelsea made a bid for the player and in the summer of 2012 it was announced that his move to Chelsea had been completed. Moses played for England at under-17, 18 and 21 levels, but in 2011 he decided to play for the country of his birth. Moses helped Nigeria win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and also represented his country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Definitely, wherever they are at the moment, they should be proud of me, looking down being proud.  Victor Moses, talking about his parents.

Where has Moses been for the last three years?

Moses signed for Chelsea in 2012 and everything went well in that first season. He played 43 times, scored 10 goals and helped his new club to success in the Europa League. However, the following season, he was sent out on loan to Liverpool. He only started 9 matches while with the Reds and returned to Chelsea the following summer. In the 2014/15 season, Moses was sent out on loan again, this time he went to Stoke City. He produced some good performances for the Potters but injury meant his season finished early and in the summer he returned to Chelsea once again. At the beginning of the 2015/16 season, Moses was sent out on a third season-long loan. This time it was to West Ham and Moses made 26 appearances for the London club. At the beginning of this season, most people expected Moses to leave the club again, but Antonio Conte had other ideas and Moses is now playing brilliantly in his new position of wing-back.

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What do you think?

Victor Moses scored twice for Nigeria against Algeria. Which player do you think performed best in last week's World Cup qualifiers? 

Victor Moses has changed position from winger to wing-back. Do you know any other players who changed positions with success? Can you think of a player who can play in lots of different positions?

Victor Moses has been on loan at three other Premier League clubs. Do you think it's a good idea to send players out on loan?  Can you think of a player that is playing well on loan at the moment?