Cesc Fabregas has revealed why he and teammate Willian did not play a lot last season.
Both players enjoyed short bursts of action last season while N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic were regular starters for Antonio Conte. The dynamic duo made a combined 70 appearances in the Premier League.
Only 13 Chelsea players played more than 10 games last season under Conte – who used a constant starting 11 week in week out throughout the whole campaign.
Fabregas said that the lack of competitions Chelsea were competing in was the reason for the lack of game time.
Speaking to the Sun the Spaniard said, “Last season because of the schedule with no Champions League — and we went out early in the League Cup — we were all fit for most of the season. We basically had every week off.
“The manager didn’t have to make a lot of changes. I paid for it, Michy paid for it, Willian paid for it. So we had to keep working and wait for our chance.”
With the new season just around the corner, at central midfield Conte has Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante.
However, due to Bakayoko’s arrival Matic is looking for a move away from Stamford Bridge and is not with the squad on their tour of Asia.
This season Chelsea will feature in Champions League football plus the Premier League and other domestic cups, there will be plenty of minutes available for Conte’s side to enjoy.
