John Terry and Gary Cahill produced another impressive performance last night.
It was a day that brought them yet another clean sheet – and a day that brought them yet another goal, one that Terry played his part in and Cahill finished off.
In short, it was vintage Chelsea: a defensive performance that Jose Mourinho would have been beaming with after the game.
Yes, the Blues were only facing Galatasaray – but they still needed to get to the Champions League quarter-finals. And they did it with aplomb.
As much as the Turkish side were lethargic in front of goal, however, the statistics show that it was as much Chelsea not letting them play.
According to match stats on WhoScored.com, the Blues’ back line made 29 clearances in total, with 28-year-old Cahill making four of them and Terry making seven. But the centre-backs also had huge support from their full-backs, with Cesar Azpilicueta making three clearances and Branislav Ivanovic a monstrous 15.
Chelsea’s back four also made seven interceptions in total and eight tackles between them.
Yet it is not just in Europe that Mourinho’s defenders have impressed – e1 ‘specially Terry and Cahill. Indeed, Opta stats show that Chelsea’s centre-back pairing might just be the best in the Premier League.
| Name | Team | Goals Conceded / apps | Interception Won / apps | Aerial Won / apps | Effective Clearance / apps | Won Tackle / apps | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per Mertesacker | Arsenal | 0.96 | 1.67 | 2.96 | 7.07 | 0.96 | 27 |
| John Terry | Chelsea | 0.79 | 1.11 | 3.18 | 6.79 | 0.61 | 28 |
| Laurent Koscielny | Arsenal | 0.77 | 2.85 | 1.73 | 7.42 | 1.58 | 26 |
| Gary Cahill | Chelsea | 0.70 | 0.87 | 3.96 | 7.35 | 0.83 | 23 |
With the Blues having conceded just 23 league goals this season, they have the best defensive record in the top flight. Arsenal are just behind them on 28 – the difference perhaps being their trip to Anfield – but is their centre-back pairing necessarily better than that of Terry and Cahill?
Admittedly, the Gunners’ defenders average more interceptions and tackles per game, although they only just shade the amount of effective clearances per appearance and win far less aerial duels.
Crucially, meanwhile, Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny concede more goals as a partnership than Terry and Cahill.
Either way, the Chelsea centre-backs are now a far cry from the often shaky looking pairing they were at the start of the season. Mourinho has moulded them into one of the best duos around.
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