In a completely revamped Chelsea lineup under the reign of new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Fernandez is emerging as a true leader. It can be said that the success or failure of The Blues this season will heavily depend on the performance of the Argentine midfielder.
Bright Spot for Chelsea
The first Premier League showdown of the 2023/24 season was a clash between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Both teams had disappointing seasons previously and were expected to come back strong this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s team broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Mohamed Salah made an excellent left-footed pass to Luis Diaz, who swiftly entered the penalty area and scored for Liverpool. However, Chelsea quickly found an equalizer thanks to newcomer Axel Disasi’s shot inside the box.
Both sides had goals disallowed due to offside in the first half, and neither team could find the net in the second half. The result was a 1-1 draw in this epic battle.
Clearly, both Chelsea and Liverpool have not fully hit their stride yet, given the personnel changes. Their players probably need more time to sync with the new season after the summer break and the gentle friendly matches. But there’s one player who has quickly burst onto the scene – Enzo Fernandez on Chelsea’s side.
Despite the weight of his £106 million transfer fee, Fernandez is a player with great composure. In fact, he has somewhat proven his worth in the latter part of the 2022/23 season after joining The Blues in January. However, due to Chelsea’s collective underperformance, Fernandez’s efforts seemed lost in the shuffle.
Heading into the 2023/24 season, Fernandez has integrated even better with the new team. This has allowed him to showcase his unique qualities even more. The Argentine midfielder commanded Chelsea’s midfield, dominating the game against Liverpool’s midfield. Thanks to Fernandez’s brilliance, The Blues controlled 65% of possession, took 10 shots, and launched 142 attacks, with 84 of them being dangerous.
Also read: Reece James to Captain Chelsea
The New Heart of The Blues
The Argentine player operates in a deep-lying midfield position for The Blues, participating in stopping Liverpool’s attacks while also initiating Chelsea’s attacks and counter-attacks. He’s also willing to push forward to take shots when necessary.
In one instance, this midfielder received the ball in the middle of the field with his back to the goal, then passed it to Raheem Sterling before making a run into the opponent’s penalty area. In another situation, the 21-year-old player regained possession, dribbled straight into the opponent’s half, and delivered a dangerous pass.
According to Sofascore’s statistics, Fernandez had 118 touches, a passing accuracy of 90%, provided 2 key passes, attempted 7 crosses, made 11 long passes, created 1 clear-cut chance, successfully dribbled past opponents 2 times, won 5 out of 9 duels, made 1 interception, blocked 1 shot, and had 1 successful tackle. Both Daily Mail and Sky Sports voted him as the best player of the match.
Fernandez’s well-rounded qualities were evident throughout the game, and he hopes to become a key player in Chelsea’s title race this season. In a statement on Chelsea’s official website earlier this week, the Argentine star admitted, “Chelsea’s main goal this year is to win the Premier League. Now, we have a new head coach and many new players, so our expectations have changed.”
“It’s clear that when I arrived, everything was challenging, a lot of changes were happening, and things were moving very fast for me. We want to be an explosive team, strong in both attack and defense, entering every match to win, regardless of the opponent. We want to dominate every game we participate in.”
In a Chelsea lineup with many new faces, Fernandez is showing that he’ll be the leader to guide the entire team to success. As a reigning world champion, he’s fully capable of achieving this.
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