Chelsea's season appears to have turned a corner, and they're on their way toward challenging for top four. A draw away to Tottenham Hotspur hasn't been a great result in past years, but in the context of this campaign, it's a nice result. Everyone seems to be playing better and ready to push up the table. And then there's Cesc Fabregas.
Cesc Fabregas’ botched free kicks are works of art
Why does this guy just forget how to play soccer sometimes?
Paul Gilham/Getty Images
0-0 FT. This Fabregas free kick summed up the second half as a spectacle pic.twitter.com/epq2r2jz0T
— JD Football (@JDFootball) November 29, 2015 A quick ranking of Cesc’s options here:
1. Short pass to Oscar
2. Short pass to Matic
3. Short pass to Ivanovic
4. Boot it into the box
5. Something really bad that a reasonable person might do
6. What he actually does
The cliched saying for what he does on his fake pass to Nemanja Matic is “thinks better of it,” but that’s hardly an accurate description of what’s going on here. If he hits a pass to Matic with conviction, it likely splits the defenders, Matic takes a touch into space and Chelsea are driving up the pitch. Not liking that or the easy pass to Branislav Ivanovic, he decides to run around the dang ball and ignore Oscar, who’s come available for a short pass, before putting it out for a throw to the applause of Cesar Azpilicueta. Amazing.
That was nothing compared to his quick restart effort later in the match.
Tottenham’s players are surrounding the referee and complaining instead of playing defense. This is a good time to play a quick restart and catch them napping. Just make sure you don’t ...
He's actually kicked it right in Willian's face hahahahaha pic.twitter.com/ef4dFP1eWo
— Jake. (@YedIin) November 29, 2015 Don’t do that.
Willian, luckily, saw what Fabregas was doing well before he actually did it and got his arm up. If he hadn’t thought quickly, he’d be out for an indefinite amount of time with a serious concussion.
This is the perfect microcosm of the season Fabregas is having. He’s one of the most talented players in the world, but he’s never quite put it together, crumbling in big games in three different shirts on a regular basis. No one’s ever been able to figure out exactly why he forgets how to play soccer every once in a while.
