The focus, understandably, was on John Terry being substituted for the first time ever in a league game by Jose Mourinho.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, 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.
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.
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.
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