Ahead of the big Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester City on Saturday evening, Cesc Fabregas spoke about the match and his opponents. The Chelsea midfielder was speaking ahead of the release of the EA SPORTS FIFA 16 Ultimate Team - Team of the Season.
The Spaniard was asked a number of questions, especially on dealing with City striker Sergio Aguero and their record transfer Kevin De Bruyne.
Speaking about the threat of Aguero, Fabregas said: “We’ll have to be smart. He’s a very good player, he’s been showing it for a few years now in the Premier League and even before that in Spain and with the national team so we know what he can do.
“He’s very fast, he loves to take on players, he’s a natural goalscorer and both the defenders and midfielders will have to be very compact to prevent their midfielders from getting the ball to Sergio,” Fabregas explained.
“We’ll try to control the game as well, to have possession and see if they can have less of the ball and less chances.
Hardly knew De Bruyne before this season: Fabregas
Fabregas was also asked about the influence of De Bruyne who came back from injury and helped the Manchester club qualify for the Champions League semi-final. The Belgian midfielder scored the solitary goal in the second leg to ensure City qualified with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
De Bruyne spent two seasons at Chelsea between 2012 and 2014 before moving to Wolfsburg due to a lack of playing time. He soon became one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga, evident from the club-record-breaking £55m move from Wolfsburg last summer.
And Fabregas admitted he did not know much about the 24-year-old until this season. De Bruyne has 15 goals and 9 assists in all competitions this season in spite of a knee injury that kept him out for two months.
Fabregas was asked if he was impressed by the Belgian and he said: “Yes, mostly because I hardly knew about him before this season.
“I didn’t really watch the German league in the few years he was there so yes he’s impressed me because I didn’t know that he had that much quality. I think he fits in very well with Manchester City’s footballing style.”
He was also asked about Antonio Conte’s appointment as the Blues’ new manager from next season. The Italian will take over from the club’s interim boss Guus Hiddink after Italy’s Euro 2016 campaign.
“Obviously, I don’t know what he’ll ask from the players tactically,” Fabregas said. “But we’ll have to adapt very quickly.”
Cesc Fabregas was speaking ahead of the launch of the EA SPORTS FIFA 16 Ultimate Team – Team of the Season, with the squads being released from April 29th. To read the full interview, head here.
