Chelsea: 5 key takeaways from victory over Manchester United

3. Kovacic is excellent on average, unstoppable on his day

As has been the case many times this season, Mateo Kovacic dominated the midfield and made his case for Man of the Match. There was truly nothing the United midfielders could do to stop him.

It’s not like he was playing against relegation candidates, either. He went up against Paul Pogba and Fernandes, two of the league’s best midfielders, and simply outplayed them. But he didn’t only outplay them, he humiliated them.

When Kovacic is running with the ball, he keeps it on a string, reminiscent of Eden Hazard, and he runs at pace, breaking lines and creating space. He is not one to score a lot, or even assist regularly, but he affects the game so much regardless.

His ability can unlock games and create attacks out of nothing, which is important both against top teams who press and against deep defences who leave little space to work with.

Kovacic deserves to be Chelsea’s player of the season, and he very likely will be with the level he has reached this year. Beyond Kevin De Bruyne, who is in a league of his own, there is certainly a strong argument to say the Croatian is the best in the league.

He is sorely missed when he doesn’t play and will be critical in the team’s next match against Liverpool on Wednesday.