Nemanja Matic explains why it was easier to play with N’Golo Kante than Cesc Fabregas at Chelsea

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Former Chelsea star Nemanja Matic was fortunate enough to play alongside some truly world-class midfielders at Stamford Bridge, including both N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas.

Chelsea have been blessed with some elite central midfielders, especially in the 21st century.

Nemanja Matic, who had two separate spells with the Blues, was a superb defensive midfielder during his time in West London. He’s a nightmare opponent because of his height and physical attributes, plus he’s got a cultured left foot.

As for N’Golo Kante, the former Chelsea ace is renowned for his tireless energy in the centre of the park. Back in 2021, Kante dominated Real Madrid in the Champions League en route to winning the European trophy.

Finally, Cesc Fabregas enjoyed a stellar career as a midfield playmaker with exquisite vision and creativity. Now, he’s the manager at Italian top-flight club Como.

• READ MORE: Nemanja Matic shares what happened ‘every day’ at Manchester United that never occurred at Chelsea

Nemanja Matic remembers he ran a lot less at Chelsea playing next to N’Golo Kante compared to Nemanja Matic

When Chelsea won the Premier League during the 2016/17 season, they had midfield powerhouses such as Matic, Fabregas and Kante to choose from.

Matic played alongside both Fabregas and Kante as part of a midfield pivot across different seasons with the Blues. Interestingly, he admitted that it was easier playing with the latter because it meant he had much less running to do during matches.

During a recent interview with The Athletic, Matic said: “In 2015, I played mostly with Cesc, in 2017 it was more alongside N’Golo with Cesc in front. I liked it with both. Cesc was a maestro with the ball, giving the final pass. N’Golo — more passing, defensive midfielders who win the ball and break up the opposing attacks as soon as possible and pass to the maestros in front, Cesc, Oscar, Pedro, (Eden) Hazard, these guys.

“With Cesc I had to be worried more about defensive things to cover because he would attack, I had to bring more balance in front of the defensive line. With N’Golo, we had a deal: he watched left, I watched right. I had to run less with N’Golo. I felt amazing with both.”

Kante, who now plays in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, lit up the Premier League earlier in his career. In fairness, Matic is the latest in a long line of players to mention how great it was to play on the same team as the French star.

Speaking back in 2018, Eden Hazard praised Kante by describing him as the world’s best player in his position.

It’s quite telling that Kante was recently voted into Chelsea’s greatest ever team by the club’s fanbase, too.

N’Golo Kante vs Moises Caicedo

Of course, current Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo still has miles and miles to go before he gets close to matching Kante’s achievements in the game. However, Blues fans this season will notice the similarities between the pair.

We’ve taken a look at how Kante from Chelsea’s title-winning season and his debut year at the club compares to Caicedo from the current ongoing campaign.

It makes total sense that Caicedo admitted he idolised Kante when he was younger because you can see the midfielders play the game in a similar way. At this stage, the Ecuadorian star would get our vote for Chelsea’s Player of the Season.

We’re not sure we’ll ever see another individual as good as Kante at stealing back possession, but Caicedo is consistently doing some special things on the football pitch this season.