Chelsea loss: Could Matic have made the difference?

I personally felt a sense of loss at Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle United on Saturday, not because I support the Blues or have any love lost for them for that matter but basically due to the fact that I was enthralled by the possibility that they were en-route to matching the timeless achievement of that great Arsenal squad that went the 2003/04 season without losing a league match.

While the run lasted, I was rooting for Chelsea and now that it has sadly been ended, life goes on until we see another team willing to take up the holy grail of equaling Arsenal’s record. Four seasons ago, in the 20010/11 campaign, Man United made a similar attempt but crashed to Wolves on Matchday 25 so Arsenal’s incomparable season survives for at least another season. Will that record, 49 games in all, ever be matched, let alone broken? What do you think?

By that tweet, for those who missed the message and harassed me wrongly, I was trying to give kudos to Newcastle United and manager Alan Pardew. When you say Chelsea lost, it sort of takes something away from the effort of the opposing team who gave an arm to secure their victory over the league leaders. The Magpies had a game-plan which they stuck to and reaped bountifully from. It was brilliant in its simplicity. Pardew must have told his players to sit back, absorb whatever Chelsea had to throw at them and, if they survive that, attack on the break.

It produced 2-0 goals so you must give kudos to Newcastle BUT the million dollar question I kept asking myself was if the result would have been different had Chelsea’s most influential but highly understated player, Nemanja Matic had played.

The Serbian, Chelsea’s only outfield player to play every minute of their 14 league games before last Saturday, had racked up five yellow cards and was suspended for the mandatory one game so he wasn’t available for selection.

Let me state clearly here that even with Matic playing, Chelsea COULD have lost but we’ll never know that for sure. And, as no two games are the same, if Chelsea lost their next game with Matic playing, it still will not detract from my opinion. Yes, it is just that. My opinion.

 

Prior to the match, Mourinho either underestimated the importance of Matic or was just being his typical self when he brushed off the Serbian’s absence with a wave of the hand.

When asked by reporters about Matic’s suspension, the Portuguese had replied: “No problem. Diego was also important for us and he didn’t play and we didn’t want to speak about him. This time it is a big player for us who isn’t playing but we trust other people and we forget Matic. He has a little bit of a holiday, a free weekend which he deserves very, very much, and he will come back stronger.”

As it turned out, it was a break that Chelsea could ill-afford. Matic is the small but nevertheless vital pin that makes the Blues machine function seamlessly. Seated in front of the back-four, the Serbian makes John Terry and Gary Cahill look much more efficient than they actually are.

He screens them from direct onslaught from the enemy by breaking down incoming attack and rapidly launching fast counter-attacks that are often deadly. His imposing height, precise left foot and eagles-sharp eyes means he could spot both a danger and an opportunity before they happen.

While Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have electrified opposition defences with their attacking partnership, it has been the Serb who has often provided the last line of defence in Chelsea’s midfield when their opponents have threatened to break through. Matic is considered to be one of the best holding midfielders in Europe at the moment and deservedly so.

Matic has played every minute of Chelsea’s 14 league games so far and in that time he has managed to win 37 tackles. This is way ahead of Steven Gerrard, Fernandinho and Daley Blind, so you start to get an idea of just how good Matic is.

 

When you look at the average of tackles per game, he’s also ahead of the park with 2.43 compared to Blind’s 2.25, or Fernandinho and Gerrard who have only averaged 1.43 and 1.57 tackles per game respectively.

One of the key aspects of a holding midfielder’s game is to able to cut out any attack before it reaches their defence and this often involves intercepting any passes in behind the midfield. Matic has excelled in this respect and he’s committed the third least number of fouls compared to his rivals.

So, in his absence, Mourinho had to field a replacement and the only two people who could fit into his shoes were the Brazilian Ramirez and John Mikel Obi. Ramirez was absent through injury so the lot fell on Obi to fill the gaping hole in the heart of the team.

I have chosen not to slate Mikel (see box for a review of his performance), not because I cannot or should not criticize him but because I fear for his Chelsea future for as long as Matic is in this imperious form.

The loss to Newcastle has actually over-blown his importance, whether wrongly or rightly, and Mourinho would be right to look elsewhere for a cover for his Serbian gem whose presence could have preserved Chelsea’s unbeaten record.

Chelsea are the seventh team in Premier League history to remain unbeaten after the opening 14 games.

Arsenal (2003-04) – 38 games, won the league

Man Utd (2010-11) – 24 games, won the league

Man City (2011-12) – 14 games, won the league

Liverpool (2007-08) – 14 games, did not win the league