Chelsea 2021/22 player ratings (part two): Midfielders

Jorginho (Central midfielder): 7.5/10

Jorginho was not as superb as he was in the 2020/21 season. For a defensive midfielder, he had a good season though. He led Chelsea’s midfielders in passes per game and ranked second in tackles plus interceptions per game (3.4), behind only N’Golo Kante (3.5). Jorginho played his role very well. He helped the Blues counter-press, win the ball and distribute it. In fact, the Italian international ranks in the 90th percentile or higher in passes completed per 90, percentage of passes completed per 90, progressive passes per 90 and interceptions per 90 amongst midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, according to fbref.

Jorginho created six big chances for Chelsea last season, no defensive midfielder in the Premier League created more besides Christian Norgaard, if Norgaard counts as a defensive midfielder. Jorginho’s Ballon d’Or ranking caused many to judge him unnecessarily harshly because they had an issue with it. However, he was superb in the Champions League, averaging 4.4 tackles plus interceptions per game. Kante, by comparison, averaged 2.5.

N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 7/10

Kante was very good last season. Tuchel himself mentioned Kante when he was speaking about how the Blues’ season turned out. He emphasized the amount of games Kante missed, implying that 33% of games is a lot of games for a key player to miss. In fact, while Kante played 66% of games, he only played 48% of the available minutes this season. Nonetheless, Kante was very good when he played.

Apart from his defensive contributions, he was magnificent in his ball progression. He ranked in the 94th percentile for progressive carries per 90 amongst midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues. The Frenchman also ranked in the 93rd percentile for dribbles completed per 90 and at a 73% success rate. Kante’s ball winning was equally excellent, as he made more tackles plus interceptions per game than any Chelsea player (3.5). His work rate was also incredible, averaging 19.5 pressures per 90 in the Premier League. Kante was great in all of the other competitions.

Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 7/10

Mateo Kovacic started the season brilliantly, but his form was derailed when he came back from injury. Chelsea’s struggles started and continued when Kovacic got injured. The Croatian was crucial in the Blues breaking the lines with progressive passes and carries as he was seen as king of that. In fact, Kovacic ranked in the 98th percentile for progressive passes per 90 and in the 99th percentile for progressive carries per 90 of all midfielders in the top five leagues. He also ranks in the 93rd percentile or higher for assists per 90 and expected assists (xA) per 90 of all midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues, according to fbref.

Kovacic was not quite the same after he returned from injury, an injury which turned out to be more serious than many thought. Kovacic deserves credit for his ball progression, but his ball winning was less than satisfactory. He made 0.3 interceptions per game in the Premier League, coming to about eight total interceptions in 25 league games. What’s worse? He made zero interceptions in the Champions League. His pressing was phenomenal though.

Statistics are courtesy of fbef and SofaScore.

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