Why Antonio Conte Was Right In Building His Chelsea Squad Around This Midfield Bulldozer

5 consecutive and emphatic Premier League victories for Chelsea have suddenly established them as one of the title favourites, and those wins are not only down to a change in formation and tactics, but also to a sparkling form from the players – a lot of whom performed woefully below par last season.

While Costa and Hazard, both of whom have weighed in 9 and 7 goals respectively have been deservedly showered most praises, a couple of other Chelsea players who have spectacularly stood out are also deserving of equal accolades, and one of such is Nemanja Matic.

Since suffering a sharp dip in form in a season when every other Chelsea player apart from Willian and Azpilicueta, his future at the Stamford Bridge heading into the new season came under heavy doubts, with many suggesting his days were over upon Conte’s arrival.

However, not only has he remained and become a very vital cog of Chelsea’s midfield, Matic’s performances have surpassed expectations and surprised a lot of naysayers. Yet, he has been starved of the honour he truly deserves, with many still of the belief his form would drop sooner or later.

But if that eventually happens or not, his current exploits alongside Kante, with whom he has formed a formidable partnership in a box-to-box midfield role and is far more than commendable.

No other Chelsea player has assisted more goals than the 28-year-old (5), and he has made 7 key passes in 11 league appearances. In the whole of the EPL, only De Bruyne has more (6), while he is tied with Pedro on the assist charts.

The Serbia international has paired well with Kante to great success, and has been the perfect link between defence and attack in the new 3-4-3 formation. His neat passes and calmness on play have been excellent, and his contributions to the overall success of the team in their last 5 Premier League games is plainly underrated.

Not only does he provide the aerial covering in midfield for the 5 ft 6 in Kante, Matic keeps it neat with his tackles, and that he has only been booked twice this term despite averaging 3 defensive actions per game is a testament to that.

He has won 18 out of 27 of his headed duels, 16 of his 37 tackles and completed 8 of his 20 attempted take-ons. Matic has completed 591 passes with an average pass accuracy of 88%, and recorded a 50% shot accuracy.

These stats are very impressive, and the fact that he has completed all of Chelsea’s last 5 league games further underlines his importance to the team. It is something Conte’s sees from a keen tactical perspective, and the player is set to continue playing his important role under the Italian as they aim a shot at the title.

Nemanja Matic deserves far more credit for Chelsea’s recent success in the league than he is currently receiving. Those 5 clean sheets and 16 goals that accompanied them wouldn’t have possible without him in the starting XI. Forget the goal providers, Matic has been of far more utmost importance to the stability of the new formation and Chelsea’s 2nd place spot on the log.

Stats supplied by Squawka