Chelsea FC player evaluations 2015/16: Nemanja Matic
In the last installment in our series evaluating the performances of Chelsea FC players over the season, Nemanja Matic is under the spotlight.
D. After a fantastic campaign last time out, it has been some fall from grace for Nemanja Matic. Concerningly, it’s hard to figure out where it all went wrong.. 43 Apps, 2 Goals - CM. Serbia. NEMANJA MATIC
Nemanja Matic has been a complete mystery this season. The Chelsea midfielder started the season off as a champion for the first time in his career, but his performances were nowhere near as dominant as we have come to know since he arrived in January 2014.
Matic used to be a player who, despite being lanky, could shrug off someone as big as Yaya Toure. His style brought about the type of composure we have only seen on this team with players like Makelele and Michael Ballack anchoring the midfield.
Even though the team did not have the goal scoring prowess of someone like Luis Suarez at Liverpool in the 2013-14 season, Chelsea had a more prized asset: a complete defensive-midfielder that made every team in the league scoff in envy.
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The Blues had a player whose attributes did not restrict him to just sit back and soak up attacks, but allowed him to contribute going forward. He would add to attacks with his excellent dribbling ability, and his ability to conjure up defence-splitting passes from time to time.
This season, however, a duality began to appear in Matic’s performances. In terms of statistics, he actually had a similar season to last year. His tackles percentage (tackles won/tackles lost) was higher this season than last season (79% vs 73%), and his percentage of tackles won was also higher this season (44% vs 42%).
He even committed fewer fouls per minute than John Obi Mikel – a fan-favourite for bringing calmness into the team at a crucial moment in the season.
Now let’s be honest, for whoever was actually watching Matic this season would know that he was anything but spectacular. In fact, the quality of his performances had already started declining towards the end of last season.
Matic’s biggest fault this season was doing everything slightly better than average, and nothing spectacular. On a team like Chelsea, that tends to expose you far too much, and when your teammates are also performing below standards, a defensive midfielder’s life becomes even harder.
I truly hope that Chelsea keep hold of Matic for another season. I do not believe that he is past his best. I do believe that he will be a vastly improved player next season. There is nothing wrong with his work ethic or his technical or tactical ability.
Next: Player evaluations 2015/16 hub
His confidence was completely shot by the end of the season, and with someone as passionate as Antonio Conte coming in to coach this group (reportedly a fan of Matic), confidence should no longer be a problem next season.