Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has talked to the club’s official website about his new role under Antonio Conte, and what is needed from the team to challenge for the Premier League title.
The big Serbian has been Conte’s key man throughout the season, as in every six of Chelsea’s pre-season games and the seven competitive matches that have followed, Matic has been named in the starting line-up.
This season the 28-year-old has been a part of Chelsea’s three-man-midfield – alongside N’Golo Kanté and Oscar – but thinks his role is slightly more offensive now than last campaign.
If you see our games I think the midfield has played well. We fight for each other, and also if you see the last game against Leicester we did a good job.
My role is more or less the same as before, but the only thing is now I can play maybe a little bit more offensively, maybe 10 per cent more than last season. I still have a difficult job and I have to run a lot.
When we defend I have to be close to Kante to help him and the defensive line, and when we attack I have more freedom than him to go forward, like for the goal against Liverpool.
In that moment we were playing with two in midfield because we were losing. I took a little risk, Eden gave me a good ball between the lines and I used it well. I can attack sometimes!
Matic says that the whole team were greatly disappointed after the home defeat to Liverpool, but pushes the team to keep going forward after a great comeback win over Leicester on Tuesday night at King Power Stadium.
New things are still to be learned under the new manager, says Matic, who thinks Conte is showing great faith in the team.
We have a new coach and we are still trying to do the things that he wants us to do.
We want to improve more and we can improve, as he has said to us a few times. He sees that every day.
Chelsea are currently fifth in the table with five points’ margin to the league leaders Manchester City, but the former Benfica man think the Blues have the quality and the character to go on to claim the glory for league or cup this season.
It’s going to be very hard until the end of the season but what I see is that the team is ready, physically and mentally. We have quality too but it’s not enough to only have quality. You need to have character if you want to win a title or a cup, and we definitely have that in the changing room
