Chelsea: Matic and Mazacar in the mix for all-time best partnerships

Chelsea’s best teams have never been about the best individual players, but the best combinations and partnerships on the pitch. Here are a few who left strong impressions in their short times together.

Frank Lampard provided 24 assists to Didier Drogba, a record that is almost at the level of invincibility as Chelsea’s record of allowing only 14 goals in a single season. Players do not spend as much time together on one team as Lampard and Drogba did, let alone two, let alone two as superlative in their positions and partnership as Lampard and Drogba. Here are some other less noticeable but equally memorably Blues’ combinations.

1. Mazacar: Juan Mata – Eden Hazard – Oscar (Varun Dani)

Chelsea’s Champions League triumph and Didier Drogba’s departure signalled the end of an era, and the arrival of young guns Eden Hazard and Oscar ushered the club into a new one. But more than just the players, Roman Abramovich wanted to change the very core of the club – the club ethos – from grit to beauty. Mazacar did just that.

Linking up with Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar formed the deadly trio called “Mazacar,” and proceeded to wreak havoc in England and, indeed, Europe. Occupying the three attacking roles just behind the striker in the 4-2-3-1, the trio had a seemingly telepathic understanding and would rip apart defences at will.

The beauty of the trio lay in the fact every player within the trio excelled at every position: left wing, central attacking midfielder and right wing.

While each had a favourite position, they could seamlessly interchange positions in a matter of seconds, further bamboozling and shredding defenders who would go from the nimble-footed Hazard to the creator-in-chief Mata to the long distance-shooter Oscar. There was no way to predict what would happen next.

The freedom and lack of defensive discipline, though, meant that Mazacar’s run was a short one, lasting just a single season, as while they were offensively flawless, they would leave the team defensively vulnerable. Jose Mourinho’s return the following season spelt the end for the trio, as the Special One discarded Mata for Willian and Andre Schurrle to fit his counter attacking style.

But even if it was just for one season, the glorious Mazacar racked up 66 goals amongst themselves and made spectators fall in the love with the sport of football. On their day, it was poetry in motion.