Exiled from the first team and banished to the sidelines for much of the start of the season, Cesc Fabregas was gifted an opportunity in the first team with Nemanja Matic injured against Manchester City. He produced a fine assist to turn that game around for the Blues.
Last weekend against West Brom, once again his side were struggling to break down Tony Pulis’ defensive outfit, but Fabregas claimed another assist having come off the bench when Diego Costa capitalised on a defensive error to break through and score.
On Wednesday night, Fabregas proved his worth again as he was rewarded with a place in the starting eleven and thanked Antonio Conte by scoring a composed winner against Sunderland for the Blues.
Dominant in midfield, Fabregas was a hub of creativity for Chelsea, creating an impressive five chances in total, only for his teammates to fail to convert. He also maintained his usual repertoire of passing with an 84% pass completion ratio, managing 98 out of his 117 passes.
He added to that by breaking forward when possible, with one memorable dribble beating the Black Cats midfield and leaving them for dead, truly winning the battle with them with his seven ball recoveries.
His goal was pure Fabregas, looking to set up Willian on a quick counter-attack before receiving the ball back on the edge of the box and curling into the bottom corner past Jordan Pickford to give the Blues a lead going into the break.
Defensively he also contributed, winning his only aerial duel and half of his tackles as Conte’s team were forced back into their own half for much of the latter stages of the game with Fabregas forming part of a three man midfield alongside Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante.
Fabregas is continually showing his importance to this Chelsea side despite speculation linking him with a move away, and it remains to be seen if he has done enough to extend his stay in London with the Blues beyond January or even the summer.
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