Nemanja Matic

[CHOULO19 24,332]

In the first half his tackles were great, then Obi, was passed a lot. In the second he changed, missplaced passes, missing the man. He didn't control the centre and Obi didn't help either. I think with the pace Coutinho and Sterling both offered, Ramires was a must. Then again, he may not yet be ready.

I think both he and Mikel were exposed 'tactically' by how Liverpool setup and attacked with a sort of two number tens. I think that took Jose by surprise and I hope he thinks of something to stop it next week. But even with that, both made some really incredible errors for professionals at this level.

I'd expect Mikel and Matic to be beaten by Coutinho because there was often a gap between them and the back four that JT is unable to cover and Cahill unwilling. We should not however expect Mikel to fail to press or get dispossessed or Matic to make simple positional errors like for the goal or keep misplacing simple passes. Those are unacceptable individual mistakes.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I think both he and Mikel were exposed 'tactically' by how Liverpool setup and attacked with a sort of two number tens. I think that took Jose by surprise and I hope he thinks of something to stop it next week. But even with that, both made some really incredible errors for professionals at this level.

I'd expect Mikel and Matic to be beaten by Coutinho because there was often a gap between them and the back four that JT is unable to cover and Cahill unwilling. We should not however expect Mikel to fail to press or get dispossessed or Matic to make simple positional errors like for the goal or keep misplacing simple passes. Those are unacceptable individual mistakes.

Yeah, this. It wasn't that we had such a bad lineup. It could have worked if our pivot and defenders handled the pressure better. Our poor performance was mostly due to poor individual performance of our players. Against Stoke both Mikel and Matic were fantastic and it worked. This time they both were poor, Iva was poor, Cahill was poor. They all misplaced too many simple passes in our own half and kept giving the ball away. As a result we couldn't keep the ball at all.

[Zakadinho 84]

[robsblubot 3,502]

Yeah, this. It wasn't that we had such a bad lineup. It could have worked if our pivot and defenders handled the pressure better. Our poor performance was mostly due to poor individual performance of our players. Against Stoke both Mikel and Matic were fantastic and it worked. This time they both were poor, Iva was poor, Cahill was poor. They all misplaced too many simple passes in our own half and kept giving the ball away. As a result we couldn't keep the ball at all.

Mikel played like he always plays: decent but far from good enough for me.

Matic was indeed poor and he is almost always poor when he's played often. Which is only natural considering he's big fella and needs fitness to move about the pitch.

Lucas was better than both by a fair margin. Yes, our midfielders were under constant pressure, but that's when you need quality - when instead of kicking the ball upfield he can beat a player turn a pass to a teammate.

[iseah100 5,612]

Surprised Henrique hasn't come on to bash Matic. He played poor, but he is being overplayed. And Mikel is shit, Ramires should have been in midfield with him.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Surprised Henrique hasn't come on to bash Matic. He played poor, but he is being overplayed. And Mikel is shit, Ramires should have been in midfield with him.

José's team selection wasn't great yesterday, I agree.

[Nero 1,838]

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

EXCLUSIVE: Jorge Jesus works Nemanja Matic magic

PLAYERS such as Nemanja Matic come along once in a decade, according to the man who turned him into the player he is today.

Midfielder Matic is so important to Chelsea he has only been on the losing side once in 32 games so far this campaign – and the club have lost all but one of their games when he has not played.

Matic credits veteran Benfica coach Jesus Jorge as the man who developed him as a player. And he is now the strongman at the heart of the Chelsea midfield.

The player always there picking up the pieces when others falter.

The man who wins the tackles, makes the interceptions, reads the game.

The man who Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho calls "the giant", who the fans call "the beast."

But Chelsea once gave him away. Matic was the spare change in the £21million deal that brought David Luiz to Chelsea from Benfica in 2011.

They had to pay another £21m to get him back 12 months ago – but it has been worth every penny.

Jesus, 60 and now in his sixth year in charge of Benfica, said: "It's very difficult to find a player with Matic's characteristics. These kinds of players only appear every 10 years.

"His build is the right one for a defensive midfielder. He is tall and very strong. But he was a rare piece.

"Matic had never played as a defensive midfielder when he came to Benfica. I completely changed his characteristics and helped him to develop his potential.

"He's a product who developed with me. He went on to play some excellent games for Benfica. He is a top player.

"I'm happy he has been recognised for his quality. He deserves it as a professional and on a personal level.

"To me Matic is now the best defensive midfielder in the world. Currently, he doesn't have an equal, anywhere in the market."

Matic, 26, certainly does not hold back when he talks about the influence that Jesus has had on his career.

He said: "When I arrived at Benfica I was a more attacking player, but Jorge Jesus told me to play as a defensive midfielder."

Ironically, however, it was the departure of Javi Garcia from Benfica to Manchester City in 2012 (he has since moved on to Zenit St Petersburg) which gave Matic his chance and served as an example.

"Jorge Jesus showed me videos of Javi," said Matic. "He explained when I had to defend and when I should attack.

"It wasn't easy. Jorge told me I had to protect the defence whenever necessary. I had to close the spaces. The most important thing is knowing how to hold the position and be tactically alert.

"For Jorge Jesus, the defensive midfielder is the most important position in the team. He stops the opponents' attacks and starts the counter-attack.

"It took me some time to learn the functions, perhaps half of my first season at Benfica. For a player to get into the routine of a new position it takes between six months and a year."

Frank Arnesen, who was Chelsea's sporting director when Matic originally joined the club for a bargain £1.5m from MFK Kosice in 2009, said: "For a young player it's a tough position. You need to have eyes in the back of your head.

"It takes three things to develop your career like he has done. First, luck; then the player has to want to learn and then it takes a great coach.

"Jorge Jesus helped make Matic the star he is today."

Against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge today will provide another step in that steady improvement for the once-in-a-decade man. The stats are in Chelsea's favour.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/555316/Chelsea-Jorge-Jesus-Nemanja-Matic-magic

[Pizy 18,368]

Every time this thread gets bumped out of the blue my heart skips a beat thinking he has picked up an injury.

[robsblubot 3,502]

Just for the record: as far as I'm concerned matic is a fucking genius and our best player.

[dee25 1,044]

I thought he had a good game for the most part but him diddling on the ball and then loosing it leading to us conceding.....god that really pissed me off more than it probably should. The goal is ultimately Courtois' fault but that mistake by Matic put the team under pressure that could have been avoided. I really rate him highly but at 26 years of age he needs to cut out those sort of silly mistakes from his game. His sloppiness on the ball is becoming too frequent for my liking.

[Parky 739]

Matic today showed how important he is to our team. Energy, tackling, and driving forward. Total beast, I would go as far to say he is currently the best DM in the world.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

One of the best premier league players this season. His performances usually get overlooked by the other great talents that we have but this guy is just an incredible defensive midfielder.

[yuvala 2,167]

He's just so important for us its unreal

[Daniel1980 1,425]

I thought he had a good game for the most part but him diddling on the ball and then loosing it leading to us conceding.....god that really pissed me off more than it probably should. The goal is ultimately Courtois' fault but that mistake by Matic put the team under pressure that could have been avoided. I really rate him highly but at 26 years of age he needs to cut out those sort of silly mistakes from his game. His sloppiness on the ball is becoming too frequent for my liking.

That's why it's been worrying me. I love Nemanja, but this sloppiness of his has become far too frequent for my liking. And he's pretty often out of position, pressing too high and not managing to get back in time.

Mikel would have been crucified for Matic's mistake today.

[Special Juan 27,424]

He has a problem with his decision to release the ball, if i am being nit picky.

The goal came from his indecision.

[manpe 10,861]

Piss off guys, Matic was fucking butch last night. That goal, despite his mistake, could have been avoided if Azpilicueta, Courtois and our defence in general had played better. The zone where he lost the ball was not exactly under his own goal. Matic was beast and my MOTM.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Piss off guys, Matic was fucking butch last night. That goal, despite his mistake, could have been avoided if Azpilicueta, Courtois and our defence in general had played better. The zone where he lost the ball was not exactly under his own goal. Matic was beast and my MOTM.

I seem to remember Andre, a winger, getting a lot of stick for failing to track back when Man City scored in the first game. Never mind that Andre was the one who scored our only goal too(and what a world-class run it was).

I also remember Cesc, an AM, getting a lot of stick for being fouled and dispossessed close to Schalke's final third(!), which resulted in the counter that could have been easily stopped by numerous of our players. And never mind that Cesc was the one who scored our only goal too.

But when Matic, a defensive midfielder, makes a mistake in our half that eventually leads to a goal, it's apparently okay. And unlike Andre and Cesc, he didn't even score a goal for us, but it's okay. Because it's Matic.

Such double standards are pretty baffling. It seems Matic can do no wrong. If his name was Mikel or Oscar, he would have been crucified.