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Cesc Fabregas has a role at Chelsea: His quality still makes a difference

Cesc Fabregas scored one and set up another in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea at Stamford Bridge in February 2017

Cesc Fabregas scored one and set up another in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea last weekend. While he could yet find himself back on the bench at West Ham on Monday Night Football, it's clear that he still has a role under Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge. Adam Bate looks at why...

Pedro's goal inside the final 20 minutes was the crucial one against Swansea. It came from distance and owed plenty to Lukasz Fabianski's shoddy work in goal. But it was also Premier League assist number 102 for Cesc Fabregas in his 300th appearance in the competition.

The pass that did it was not his most spectacular but it did offer a glimpse of why he has delivered so many of them, now second to Ryan Giggs in Premier League history. Pushing the ball between the lines, the midfielder took out two players in progressing the attack.

There had been two such passes to Diego Costa inside the first three minutes. Early in the second half, he put Eden Hazard through on goal. More significantly, he also scored the opener, arriving late into the box for his third of the season. He later hit the crossbar too.

"He took the game by the scruff of the neck and was always bright and busy," said Niall Quinn, covering the game for Sky Sports. "I think he really wanted to take his chance and to play the way he did was the perfect response. I really enjoyed his performance."

Cesc Fabregas has moved to second alongside Frank Lampard on the list of most Premier League assists after Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea in February 2017
Image: Fabregas has moved alongside Frank Lampard on the Premier League assists list

Despite finding himself outside of Conte's first-choice starting line-up, Fabregas has enjoyed a quietly effective campaign. In fact, maybe a little surprisingly, he has been directly involved in a Premier League goal more regularly than any other player in a Chelsea shirt.

Indeed, his total of seven assists has only been bettered by five players in the country and each of them has played more than three times as much football as Fabregas this season. No longer first choice at Chelsea but still, it seems, the Premier League's creator supreme.

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Conte knows it too. "Cesc is a top player and is a genius at football," he said recently. "I can talk in the same way about Andrea Pirlo. Cesc, if he doesn't run 100 metres in 10 seconds, I can allow him this, because he's a genius with the ball. His velocity is in his mind."

As of February 25th 2017, Cesc Fabregas has been contributing to goals more regularly than Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro
Image: Fabregas is contributing directly to a Premier League goal every 64 minutes

He's right about the running part too, of course. Fabregas' top speed against Swansea was 25.8 kilometres per hour - closer to that of the two goalkeepers than the majority of the other outfield players on the pitch. But he is the man who makes a difference in possession.

It has been that way for much of the season when given the chance. On the opening weekend at Watford, he provided the pass for Costa's late winner. In the pivotal 3-1 win at Manchester City, he assisted one goal and played a part in the other two.

There were two further assists in one game against Stoke on New Year's Eve but the fact that he was removed in favour of Nemanja Matic after 73 minutes with the score at 3-2 said plenty. Chelsea's 3-4-3 is more attractive with Fabregas in the team, but not as solid either.

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Highlights of Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea at Stamford Bridge

Conte's men conceded as many that day as they had in the previous 12 games combined. With Matic back on, they went on to win 4-2 and Fabregas found himself omitted from the team for each of the following half a dozen league matches prior to the visit of Swansea.

"Sometimes you must make the decision and look to the balance of the team," admitted Conte. The truth is that it is tricky to accommodate Fabregas in quite the same way that he could with Pirlo at Juventus, where he tended to favour a 3-5-2 with two other midfielders.

The presence of Hazard, and indeed Pedro, lends itself to a 3-4-3 system instead. Fabregas is intelligent enough to understand Conte's predicament. "From the beginning it has been a big challenge and there are always rumours," he told Sky Sports prior to the Swansea game.

Fabregas: I'm staying
Fabregas: I'm staying

In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Cesc Fabregas says he is 100 per cent staying at Chelsea.

"You cannot stop that, but I don't care what people say. Not for one second did I want to leave. Sometimes it's so easy, you don't play two games, you get frustrated and upset and want to move somewhere else, but for me it's the opposite; I want to challenge myself."

Perhaps Fabregas - who turns 30 in May - recognises it is better to be part of something successful than the central figure within a team in turmoil. Last season is likely have taught him that much. "The situation from six months ago to now has changed massively," he said.

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With Chelsea certain to be back in the Champions League next season, Fabregas can expect his first-team opportunities to increase next term. Conte might even take the chance to work on systems that might better incorporate the little magician's talents more easily.

But for now, Fabregas will surely soon get to content himself with the knowledge that he will have more than done his bit in helping Chelsea to yet another Premier League title - an achievement that eluded him throughout his time at Arsenal. Not first choice. Still first class.

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