Player Focus: Busy Fabregas Failing to Bring Balance to Chelsea Midfield
The focus, understandably, was on John Terry being substituted for the first time ever in a league game by Jose Mourinho. That was the iconic symbol of Chelsea’s malaise: that even the captain, leader, legend couldn’t be relied upon. There are concerns too about Branislav Ivanovic, outpaced by Jefferson Montero the previous week, outmuscled by Vincent Kompany this. The defence, clearly, was struggling. But nothing that happens in football is not contingent upon something else. No problem comes without its cohort of related and supporting problems. And perhaps the biggest problem for Chelsea so far this season is the balance of the midfield.
Cesc Fabregas managed 101 touches against Manchester City and earned a WhoScored.com rating of 7.55, the highest mark of any Chelsea player. In a game that was messy for long periods, his pass-completion rate of 86.1% is perfectly acceptable and he managed two key passes. He even made seven tackles and four interceptions, in both metrics more than any other Chelsea player.
All that sounds highly impressive, and up to a point it is. Fabregas worked hard. He made an effort. He could not be accused of slacking off. And yet it was his failure to close down David Silva in the first minute that led to Sergio Aguero being played clean through. Again and again there’s the sense that his positional sense as a holding midfielder leads to difficulties against sides against whom he has to defend, leaving Nemanja Matic with too much covering to do.
A problem at the back of midfield often manifests as an issue among the back four. After the game, asked whether that had been the worst defensive performance of his time as Chelsea manager, Mourinho, who refused to be drawn, said the side had not defended well, and then pointed out that defending is the responsibility of the whole team. City found that last season, with Vincent Kompany again and again lured out of the back four to make rash challenges because he’d been left exposed by the back of the midfield.
It’s something of a surprise that Mourinho had started with Fabregas in that position. Although he started with the same 10 outfielders away at City last season, in the second half of the campaign, he tended to use Fabregas further forward against top-class opposition, bringing in either Kurt Zouma or Ramires alongside Matic. Perhaps the need to protect Ivanovic against the pace of Aleksandar Kolarov and Raheem Sterling meant that Ramires had to be used on the right, but Mourinho had no qualms about using Zouma and Matic together with Fabregas in front of them at home to Manchester United last season.
Against Swansea the previous week, Fabreags managed neither a tackle nor an interception, so perhaps the City game was evidence of a move in the right direction. In that match, he was simply overwhelmed by Swansea’s excellence but, active as he was against City, it’s also notable how involved David Silva was, making three keys passes and setting up two goals. Fabregas’s apologists might perhaps argue that Matic should take the blame for that and, up to a point, they have a case, but positional sense is something statistics can’t yet show us, and there’s where Fabregas really falls down – at least in that deep role.
More worrying still, Fabregas’s iffy form stretches back into last season. He looked shattered by the end of the campaign and, although his 18 assists were a major factor in them winning the title, he wasn’t at his best from Christmas onwards. Perhaps, after a summer off, he is – like a lot of the Chelsea squad – taking time to get back towards fitness, and perhaps his greater energy on Sunday was a sign of that. But at the back of midfield, against the best sides, he seems to contribute to the sense of disjointedness and dislocation.
Do Chelsea need to move Fabregas into a different position or should he be at risk of losing his place? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
