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Chelsea: Kurt Zouma’s technical ability and his unfair internet critics

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

Chelsea's French defender Kurt Zouma (L) vies with Sevilla's Dutch forward Luuk De Jong during the UEFA Champions League first round Group E football match between Chelsea and Sevilla at Stamford Bridge in London on October 20, 2020. (Photo by Mike Hewitt / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIKE HEWITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's French defender Kurt Zouma (L) vies with Sevilla's Dutch forward Luuk De Jong during the UEFA Champions League first round Group E football match between Chelsea and Sevilla at Stamford Bridge in London on October 20, 2020. (Photo by Mike Hewitt / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MIKE HEWITT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Kurt Zouma of Chelsea celebrates with teammates Olivier Giroud and Ben Chilwell after scoring their team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on December 05, 2020 in London, England. A limited number of fans are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Kurt Zouma of Chelsea celebrates with teammates Olivier Giroud and Ben Chilwell after scoring their team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on December 05, 2020 in London, England. A limited number of fans are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /

3. Other myths

There are other non-facts being circulated that just don’t hold water, if you’re paying any attention. Some have claimed “Silva is babysitting Zouma” or “Silva has improved Zouma.” This is why the statistics highlighted in this piece spanned the beginning of last season and run through the current date—there’s nothing Zouma is doing now that he wasn’t doing last season. Zouma was Chelsea’s best centerback last season, and has shown that he still is this year. It’s no coincidence that the Frenchman kept his place in the starting line-up out of all the centerbacks who played last season. Silva did not improve Zouma’s positioning this season, Zouma has always been positionally excellent.

Since the start of last season, Zouma has made two errors leading to shots. For comparison, van Dijk made just one error leading to shot and two errors leading to goal, but one is branded as “error-prone”, guess who? Zouma had the ninth best average rating (6.92) among centerbacks with 19 appearances or more last season. This season so far, the 26-year-old has recorded the second highest rating in the league (7.23) amongst centerbacks with nine or more appearances. Silva? He doesn’t even make it into the top 10 this season, he’s ranked 17th.

Before you say “just watch him, you’d see what I mean!”, we’ve all watched him. We’re giving wrong evaluations of his ability, so now statistics have to be rolled out. There’s a reason why Chelsea has not recorded a win when Zouma was not on the pitch (West Brom and Aston Villa). These are the numbers.

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All statistics are gotten from Fbref.com, SofaScore.com and WhoScored.com.

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