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Speaking to the press ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League tie against champions Manchester City, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists that the versatility of Cesc Fabregas is what is making his side tick.
“I think Diego Costa is doing fantastically and the numbers are obviously great, Fabregas the same,” said Mourinho. “His numbers for a midfielder are fantastic; the number of assists and the quality he brings to the game. But, for them to be playing so well the team has to be playing well. Ivanovic, Matic, Hazard, they are all playing well.”
Fabregas had completed his move to Chelsea this transfer window from Barcelona in June, and statistically has been a hit so far for the Blues.
“One of the reasons he’s so important for us is because he can play in any position in midfield. At Barcelona, he was playing many times in their style of a number nine or on the left wing, but it depends what you want for the game, what the plan is and where you think he can have more influence.”
During last week’s win against Swansea he became the first player in Premier League history to record an assist in six consecutive matches, while in midweek, against Schalke, he scored his first Chelsea goal.
“I thought he was going to stay at Barcelona, I was looking at him as the natural successor to this generation of players they have who are getting older, like Xavi,” he continues. “The surprise for me was not that he didn’t go to Arsenal but that he didn’t stay at Barcelona. We had other faces in mind, players on standby in case we couldn’t get him.”
Will Diego Costa start against Manchester City?
When asked about Chelsea’s starting line-up for their clash against Manchester City, Mourinho indicated that he will not be a making any major changes to the side.
“Normally if you want to rotate or give a chance to other players you don’t do that in big matches,” he said. “You try to be as stable as possible and play with the players who have stability in the team. If everything goes well I’ll start today with Cahill and Terry, I won’t start with Zouma for the first time.’
Diego Costa has already proven his mettle in the Premier League with brilliant goalscoring form, but his constant struggle with his muscle injury has been a worrying matter for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
“Here he’s [Diego Costa] got the right advice and education. He’s had two yellow cards; one was completely unfair because it should have been a penalty and the other was because he was being provoked the whole game and had a little reaction,” he adds. “He’s giving zero problems to referees and just concentrating on playing his football. He’s not afraid of aggressive opponents, he doesn’t let players intimidate him, but he’s there to play football and score goals.”
Quotes via Chelsea’s official website.
