The Serbian departs Stamford Bridge
having played a pivotal role in two Premier League title triumphs, as
well as winning the League Cup with the Blues.
Those trophies all came in his second
spell at the club, after re-joining Chelsea in early 2014 to add
steel and strength to the midfield.
During his first period at the club, in
2009/10, he made three substitute appearances in a
championship-winning season. He moved to Benfica in January 2011 as
part of the deal which brought David Luiz to Stamford Bridge.
Three years later, Matic returned from
the Portuguese club and his physical presence and ability to win the
ball back quickly made him an important member of the Chelsea side.
He showed how important he would be to the side in his first Premier
League start away at Manchester City, in which he produced a
man-of-the match display.
On a night when we won the game and
became the first team to stop City scoring at their home ground for
more than three years, Matic was superb and came out on top in his
individual battle with Yaya Toure. He also gave Chelsea supporters a
first glimpse of his long-range shooting ability when he crashed a
left-footed strike against the post.
Matic was ineligible to play for us in
the Champions League that season, as we reached the semi-finals, but
he started every Premier League game for the remainder of the season,
including a 4-0 win over Tottenham, a 6-0 thumping of Arsenal and a
2-0 triumph at Anfield, which severely dented the home side’s title
aspirations.
With Cesc Fabregas brought in ahead of
the following campaign, the pair formed an effective partnership as
the two deeper-lying midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Matic scored
his first goal for Chelsea in an early-season 6-3 win at Everton and
followed it up with the winner in a Champions League game against
Sporting Lisbon.
He played in every league match until
the start of December when he was suspended for our trip to
Newcastle, an afternoon on which we suffered our first defeat of the
campaign.
A sending-off against Burnley, when he
was harshly punished for reacting to a terrible tackle, ruled Matic
out of our League Cup final win over Tottenham, but his emotional
pre-match team-talk helped inspire the side to glory, and he quickly
returned for some important victories.
Matic’s role in protecting the back
four was vital as the team produced a brilliant defensive display in
a goalless draw at Arsenal which edged us closer to the title. After
the trophy was eventually secured, courtesy of a win over Crystal
Palace, he was one of six Chelsea players named in the 2014/15 PFA
Team of the Season.
In what was a difficult 2015/16
campaign for the whole side, Matic made his 100th Chelsea appearance
in a 1-0 win against Arsenal and scored a wonderful goal away at
Everton.
The arrival of Antonio Conte last
season led to a tactical change and though the Italian experimented
with different formations early on, Matic was constantly selected.
The decision to move to a 3-4-3, with the Serbian partnering N’Golo
Kante, led to a 13-game winning sequence and by the end of October
Matic had an impressive four assists to his name.
It was during that run he made his
100th Premier League appearance at Middlesbrough and he played every
league game up until the away win at Manchester City in December,
which he missed through injury.
In the reverse fixture against Pep
Guardiola’s side, Matic was introduced at half-time and his
presence enabled us to nullify City’s attack and successfully
preserve our 2-1 advantage.
The midfielder had to wait until April
for his first goal of the season but the Wembley thunderbolt in our
FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham is one which will live long in
the memory.
*101 Great Goals
