The 7 most memorable moments of Cesc Fàbregas’ Chelsea career, as chosen by Cesc Fàbregas

Cesc Fàbregas, like most of us, doesn’t have much else to do these days than sit at home and try to entertain himself by keeping fit, working as much as feasible, and trying to not succumb to boredom.

So when the Premier League’s official Twitter account asked the question of what is your favorite Magic Hat memory at Chelsea, the man himself responded with the following list, in most chronological order.

And he didn’t even include the funniest red card ever.

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1. DEBUT

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Cesc’s competitive debut for the club came in the opening game of the 2014-15 season, as Chelsea beat Burnley 3-1 at Turf Moor.

Fellow debutant Diego Costa leveled soon after the Clarets took a surprise lead, then it was Fàbregas’s turn to set up one of the most beautiful goals in all of Chelsea history, finding André Schürrle with a perfectly timed and weighted chipped ball. Cesc would add a second assist in the second-half, as his corner found Branislav Ivanović to drive home Chelsea’s third goal and seal all three points for the Blues.

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2. FIRST PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

That opening match set the tone for the rest of the season, as Mourinho Mk.II’s Chelsea waltzed to the title after shaking off closest challengers Manchester City in January.

Fàbregas, usually paired with Nemanja Matić in midfield, ran the show, collecting a tremendous 18 assists (some sources say 19), which fell just short of Thierry Henry’s single-season record of 20.

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3. GOAL vs QPR

Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

A crucial win towards the end of the 2014-15 campaign was the hard-fought and rather low quality 1-0 grind-fest at Loftus Road against QPR, who were desperately trying to avoid relegation. Chelsea managed just one shot on target all afternoon, but it was enough to collect all three points.

Cesc, having difficulty breathing with the protective mask for his broken nose (thanks, Charlie Adam’s elbow), steered his shot through a crowd into the bottom corner in the 88th minute, and into his own memory banks.

That goal can be seen at the 1:14-mark of the video below, in addition to all his other goals and assists from that debut season.

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4. 100th PREMIER LEAGUE ASSIST

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On December 31, 2016, Chelsea beat Stoke City 4-2 to equal the top-flight record of 13 consecutive wins. Chelsea took the lead twice, Stoke equalized twice, before Cesc laid one on for Willian to give Chelsea the lead for good just past the hour-mark.

It took Cesc Fàbregas just 293 Premier League games to reach the century-mark in assists, faster than anyone else ever, a record that was later recognized even by the Guinness Book of World Records.

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5. SECOND ON ALL-TIME PREMIER LEAGUE ASSIST LIST

Later that season, Fàbregas notched assist No.103 of his Premier League career, putting him one ahead of Frank Lampard for second on the all-time list.

Cesc would finish his Premier League career with 111 — Ryan Giggs holds the record with 162, though in nearly twice as many appearances (632 vs. 350).

It’s no surprise that the man on the end of assist No.103 was Diego Costa, in a 4-2 over Southampton.

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6. SECOND PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Fàbregas didn’t play as much in 2016-17 as he did in 2014-15, but he was just as crucial to Conte’s Chelsea winning the title as he was to Mourinho’s Chelsea doing so two years prior.

Many considered him to have little to no chance of featuring under Antonio Conte, which made his rise to 12th man on the team, fully convincing Conte along the way of his abilities, all the more impressive.

Cesc would add an FA Cup to his Chelsea CV a year later, which meant that he had won all three domestic competitions (4 trophies in total) with the Blues in just a 4.5-year career at the Bridge.

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7. 350th PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH, HIS LAST AT STAMFORD BRIDGE

Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images

While technically, Fàbregas’s last match in Chelsea colors at the Bridge would be the FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest a few days later, his Premier League swansong was 22 minutes against Southampton in a 0-0 draw on January 2, 2019. He’d off to Monaco soon after.

It was quite a journey for Cesc at the Bridge, from hated rival in the colors of Arsenal and Barcelona, to crowd favorite who left with tears in his eyes (and still supports the club quite vocally on social media).

Thanks again, Cesc Fàbregas!

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