Chelsea saw both N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas experience different 100 game milestones against West Ham. They could not have been more different that day.
The midfield two of Chelsea’s 3-4-3 both experienced triple digit milestones against West Ham United. Cesc Fabregas was given his 100th Premier League start. N’Golo Kante saw his 100th Premier League appearance. The gulf between the performance of the two could not have be larger.
On paper, Fabregas should have done amazingly with the milestone. His time in the Premier League stretches back to being captain at Arsenal. He has been one of the league’s deadliest creators during his career. But his showing against West Ham was anything but deadly.
Fabregas is a luxury player. When everything is just right, including the squads and tactics of both teams, he can be one of the best. He is able to find the smallest of lanes and the subtlest of runs to pass a ball towards. Anything other than a perfect circumstance and that goes away.
That is what happened against West Ham. Again and again, Fabregas tried to pick his passes. Again and again, West Ham let him. But in letting him, they were able to find where he was aiming and cut the ball out before the end product could be made.
Fabregas, with all his experience, was unable to find a solution. This has often been the case in recent weeks. Antonio Conte has favored Fabregas this season but he is not finding life as easy as it once was. If Fabregas cannot serve as a creator now, then it matters little what he accomplished in his other 99 Chelsea matches.
His partner was Kante who had a radically different game. In recent weeks Kante has been one of the few bright spots. As the rest of the team collapsed into individualism and silly mistakes, Kante was a rock. He always is.
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What is even more amazing is that Leicester dug Kante out of nowhere in the French leagues. No one would have expected him to do what he did in his 100 Premier League games. He has two Premier League titles to show for his time in England.
And what makes Kante special is the opposite of what makes Fabregas special. Fabregas excels when he is allowed to do the spectacular. He does not when it comes to the simple, gritty hard work. Kante is the opposite.
Kante will never be remembered for scoring worldies or for picking amazing passes (though he has done both). No, Kante will be remembered for doing the simple and often forgotten things better than almost anyone in the game. And the scary part is that he has visible improved since joining Chelsea.
Both Fabregas and Kante saw their milestones spoiled by Javier Hernandez’s equalizer. But at least one of them can be proud of the effort they put in on the day. Fabregas, the more experienced of the two, was found wanting. Kante only left those watching wanting more.
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As Chelsea evaluate their roster going forward into the summer these things will matter. It is no secret that Fabregas is a player on the downhill slope of his career. Kante, meanwhile, is the engine that Chelsea runs on and hopefully will continue to run on for many years to come.