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#4 The void left by the departure of Nemanja Matic
Just like Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic left for greener pastures in July 2017. Manchester United's manager Jose Mourinho happily added him to his team, and he has established himself as the pivot of United's midfield. Precisely, this is why he was so important for Chelsea.
Matic rejoined Chelsea from Benfica in 2014 for a fee of £21 million and quickly became the midfielder who would play a vital role in Blues' run to become Premier League Champions in 2014-15.
He allowed Cesc Fabregas to operate easily by moving into spaces and providing perfect passes for Costa, Hazard and Willian to score. He was responsible for the transition from attack to defense. In 2016-17, he built a strong partnership with N'Golo Kante and Chelsea reclaimed the title.
Chelsea purchased Bakayoko and Drinkwater to fill in the void left by Matic's departure, but they haven't been able to do that. That has hurt Chelsea's run as defending champions this season.
