Chelsea can be ‘as close to perfection as possible’, if they become ruthless

Cesc Fabregas has had plenty of time to observe from the sidelines having missed the majority of the season so far with a knee injury he picked up in the final days of preseason, and he’s liking very much what he’s seeing from Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea.

“My type of football has always been to play with the ball, to have the ball, to create chances, have a forward mentality. Having movement with or without the ball.”

Considering that Fabregas had found success at Chelsea in the previous four seasons despite playing under more pragmatic managers like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, it must’ve been especially frustrating to miss out on Sarri-ball for the first six weeks of the season.

While initially described as a non-serious “near-knee” concern, the injury still kept the midfielder out for all of August and most of September as well. In that time, other players established themselves in the lineup and formed strong (and winning!) partnerships on the pitch. Fabregas is still looking for his first Premier League minutes of the season in fact, making just four appearances altogether in the Europa League, League, Cup, and Community Shield.

But he’s back healthy now and if there is one thing we’ve learned about Cesc over the past few years, it’s to never count him out. It’s the same ruthless drive for success that he wants the rest of Chelsea to exhibit on the pitch as well.

“Sometimes you need to take risks, to be ruthless. You have to fight for your team-mates and for the club.”

“I believe a lot in this team. As long as we are winning, the confidence of the team will be higher and higher. It’s impossible to be perfect but be as close to perfection as possible.”

-Cesc Fabregas; source: ChelseaTV via OneFootball

Certainly some bold words from one of the most experienced members of the squad, but we’ve seen first-hand just how big of a role confidence can play in the title wins of 2014-15 and 2016-17, and the collapses of 2015-16 and 2017-18. Could that alternating pattern hold true? If we listen to Fabregas, it just might, starting with the chance to make a statement on Saturday.