Cesc Fabregas is sick of Chelsea’s critics and he’s not holding it in any longer.
Chelsea’s Spanish midfielder, 28, has been one of the most heavily criticized players during the Blues’ dreadful start to the current campaign which has seen them lose seven of their opening 12 Premier League games.
Fabregas was a magician last season, notching 18 assists in the PL after returning to England from Barcelona. His form did drop towards the end of the 2014-15 campaign but the damage was done as Fabregas and Chelsea won the Premier League title. Now, they’re languishing three points above the relegation zone and sit 15 points from top spot. All is not well.
In an interview with Spain’s Radio COPE the midfielder lashed out at critics who he feels are targeting and two of his Chelsea teammates specifically.
“If you play well you are the first to have the finger pointed at you when things are going badly,” Fabregas said. “When things go well you are the best and when things go wrong you are finished, you are useless. Those of us who have been most criticized areEden Hazard, Diego Costa and myself, but you get used to it. We’re not doing well in the league at the moment. Last year we lost four games all season and this season we have lost seven already. But Jose Mourinho is a winner; when he loses he goes home sad as I do.”
Fabregas was also asked about reports claiming he was trying to lead a player mutiny against Mourinho and wanted the Portuguese coach to be fired. Fabregas has already denied this reports on Twitter but put the record straight once and for all.
“The results at Chelsea aren’t what we would want and don’t reflect the level of our play,” Fabregas said. “I feel good in myself, but when the results aren’t coming everything is negative and everything looks bad. Mourinho trusts us and we trust him. Obviously it is a lie [that Fabregas led a mutiny against Mourinho]. I backed him in a very difficult time. My relationship with Mourinho is good, as always, but when things aren’t going well people are always looking for something.”
It’s true that Fabregas and many of his teammates have not been at their best so far this season and with so many of Mourinho’s key men all struggling at the same time, that’s a huge part of why the reigning champs are so far off the pace.
Fabregas has looked unable to keep up with the pace of the PL, with his trademark passing susceptible to high-pressure and teams “figuring him out” and going after him early in games. He has only recorded one assist this season and has scored zero goals.
The Spaniard was left out of the starting lineup for Chelsea’s latest defeat at Stoke City last weekend and it remains to be seen if he will continue to be a high-profile scapegoat. Over the next week he is with the Spanish national team as they face England in a friendly in Alicante on Friday before squaring off against No. 1 ranked Belgium.
Can Fabregas regain his mojo? What about his teammates, will this international break do them good and help Chelsea in the long run?
