Since his summer move to Chelsea, Cesc Fabregas has received significant acclaim for what he’s done with the ball. His passing has been phenomenal, as his presence on the ball. He has become Chelsea’s attacking general, capable of spraying passes all over the field. Yesterday, however, it was his lack of touch that threw off Liverpool’s defense.
In the second half of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals, Nemanja Matic played a direct ball towards Fabregas. The Spain international, however, noticed a lurking Diego Costa to his right, and pulled off one of the prettier dummies you will see this week. The chance came to nothing, since Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was off his line fast enough to clear the ball. Nevertheless, the quick-thinking Fabregas absolutely froze defenders Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho, and will now force defenders to worry about him even when he doesn’t have the ball at his feet.