da bet7k： Cesc Fabregas has been a surprising constant in Antonio Conte’s plans so far this season. Indeed, the Spain international made just 18 starts in all competitions last term and lasted the full ninety minutes on only 12 of those occasions.
da dobrowin： So far in 2017/18 though, the creative midfielder has started all of Chelsea’s Champions League games and missed just one Premier League outing – a forced absence through suspension – and Conte even tweaked the 3-4-3 formation that proved so successful throughout the Blues’ title winning campaign for the trip to West Brom last weekend – modifying it into a 3-5-2.
That shows how Fabregas has steadily revived the instrumental importance of his first season at Chelsea after starting last term on the peripheries of Conte’s plans, making just one Premier League start before December 2016, and another strong display against Qarabag last night highlighted exactly why.
There were few surprises as Chelsea steamrolled the Azerbaijani outfit in a similar showing to the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in September and their task was made even easier after 19 minutes when Rasad Sadiqov saw red for a pull on Willian inside the box.
The Brazilian was a constant thorn in Qarabag’s side, winning a second penalty during the last 45 after netting Chelsea’s second goal by finishing off a fine flowing move and before notching up the Blues’ fourth. But Fabregas was very much the creative driving force that orchestrated Chelsea’s attacking flair from deep, and that’s shown in the statistics.
Indeed, Fabregas created a whopping six changes against Qarabag and launched three accurate crosses into the box, while completing the most passes and having the most touches of the ball of any player on the pitch. And that display of relentless ingenuity was eventually rewarded when the 30-year-old took his chance to convert Chelsea’s second spot kick.
That spells bad news for Liverpool, who host Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend. While Qarabag may not be the most formidable of opposition, they almost represent the ideal sparring partners – a side for Chelsea’s key players to go through the motions against before hitting top gear at Anfield on Saturday.
Fabregas looks to ready to deliver once again against a side he already has a pretty strong record against; a return of six assists represents the 110-cap international’s sixth-best setup return against a single club throughout his entire career.
But with plenty of options to choose from, not least including the aforementioned Willian as well as N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko, would you start Fabregas at Anfield this weekend? Let us know by voting below…
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