Chelsea sealed their second Premier League title in three years on Friday evening with a narrow victory over West Brom, clinching the title with two games to spare and setting up the possibility of a double.
Antonio Conte’s side tackle Arsenal later this month in the FA Cup final at Wembley and are favourites to seal a victory over their London rivals, who have struggled to remain competitive this season.
Chelsea have been led by starring performances from the likes of Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Diego Costa but the statistics show there is two underrated stars within their squad; Cesar Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas.
Azpilicueta’s versatility has been crucial to Chelsea’s season this term and he has excelled in a central defensive position, benefitting from the tactical switch that saw the Blues adopt a three-man defensive line.
The Spaniard has also featured in wing-back roles and he’s been an ever present figure this season, playing every single minute of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign to date- a feat only two other outfield players can boast.
Elsewhere, Cesc Fabregas has been a peripheral figure in the Chelsea set-up this season, earning just 12 Premier League starts, but his reliability has been exceptional- boasting a goal or assist every 111 minutes of action on average.
Only three players have secured more assists than Fabregas’ 11 this season, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen and Gylfi Sigurdsson, but that trio have played significantly more football than the former Arsenal captain- and his ratio eclipses his rivals.
There have been other significant performances from players within the Chelsea squad, including from Azpilicueta and Fabregas’ compatriot Pedro Rodriguez, who has scored three goals from outside the box this season, with the Blues scoring 12 goals in total from outside the area- a league high.
These statistics show that Chelsea haven’t been led to the title by a couple of stand-out performers but instead boast a squad that has chipped in efficiently throughout the campaign, with the most impressive input coming from Fabregas.
Fabregas could have left last summer, and has been linked with an exit at the end of the season, but he’s shown he can be relied upon when given the opportunity and his contribution is likely to be vital next season if he stays at Stamford Bridge, as the Blues balance domestic competition with involvement in the Champions League.
The depth of Chelsea’s squad is lacking and significant signings need to be made this summer but the core contingent of players at Stamford Bridge is exceptionally strong, giving Conte a huge platform to build upon this summer.