Willian is one of the most divisive players in Chelsea, if not the most. Yet he started his 11th consecutive match – the most of any outfield player – on Sunday against Crystal Palace.
Even with Maurizio Sarri’s obvious preference for Willian, many Chelsea fans – including yours truly – do not want him at the club. The fans’ opinion of him ranges from him being one of the most indispensable players to him being one of the worst players at the club. His importance to the team is not anywhere close to either extreme, but is somewhere in the middle.
Willian has always been considered a player with plenty of raw ability, but his career has been plagued by two problems: a lack of end-product and consistency. His goal stats at Chelsea – and even before – lay bare this problem.
In his 177 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, the Brazilian winger has only scored 27 goals. In all competitions, that number increases to 47 goals in 253 matches. That translates to a goal every 5.4 matches. Extrapolated over a full season, it equates to nine goals every season. Those numbers do not make for encouraging reading. Especially not for a £32 million man.
His poor goal record is not specific to Chelsea. He scored only two goals in 20 league games for Corinthians, 20 in 140 league games for Shakhtar Donetsk and a lone goal in 11 league games for Anzhi Makhachkala. Put simply, a player of his calibre should be scoring a lot more than that. The Ukrainian and Russian league, with all due respect, should have been easy for him to score.
Willian’s arrival in the summer of 2013 generated a buzz among supporters. He was believed to be close to signing for Tottenham and had even undergone a medical there. But then Roman Abramovich picked up his phone and placed a call to Dagestan and everything changed. Willian was whisked away from White Hart Lane in a chopper (that part may or may not have happened) and he signed on the dotted line days later.
His first season was underwhelming in terms of goals (only four in the Premier League) but the new man endeared himself to supporters in other ways. His work rate, in particular, has always been one of his major selling points and he showed that aplenty. Jose Mourinho highly valued that trait, and Willian was always one of the first names on Mourinho’s team sheet.
Antonio Conte’s arrival did not change much for Willian’s role in the team until tragedy struck the Willian household. The death of his mother – and the subsequent time off – resulted in Pedro taking his place in the first team. That left Willian on the bench more often than not, and he made 19 substitute appearances in the 2016/17 title winning season. Coincidentally, that season was his most prolific in the league and he ended with eight goals. Alongside Cesc Fabregas, he proved to be a game-changing option from the bench in several matches.
That season wasn’t his best for the club, however. The honor goes to the 2015/16 season. That was Chelsea’s worst season ever (history began in 2003, after Roman Abramovich) and ended with Chelsea in 10th place. Mourinho was sacked in December with Michael Emenalo citing “palpable discord? as the reason for the decision. Willian was the only one who played with anything resembling passion that season, and he single-handedly dragged Chelsea through matches. His influence was felt more in the Champions League, a competition in which his set-piece prowess was introduced to the wider world.
That season – despite him being the best player by a wide margin – has been used as a stick to beat him with ever since. Many said he only played well because the team was playing badly, and that being the best player in a 10th-place team was not an achievement.
His rocky relationship with the fans came to a head at the end of last season. He wasn’t starting many matches and fell out with Antonio Conte as a result. His antics after the FA Cup win – posting to Instagram a picture of the team with Conte blocked out using trophy emojis – didn’t go down well with the fans, and many asked for him to be sold. That the club supposedly rejected a £60 million bid from Barcelona only enraged them more.
Willian’s Chelsea career has underwhelmed but it hasn’t been a total write off. He has been involved in some wonderful matches, but his inconsistency has meant he coasts through many more. He lets games pass him by, especially when playing against the so-called lesser teams. That may be changing now, with his recent performance versus Burnley being very good. In Eden Hazard’s absence, he took the game by the scruff of the neck and bent it to his will.
Willian was brought to add magic to Chelsea’s attack but his inconsistency has meant he’ll be remembered as nothing more than a squad player. A very effective one, but a squad player nonetheless. Fans should remember him for being a good servant of the club when he eventually leaves. I just hope that time comes sooner rather than later.