Maurizio Sarri has come in for criticism this season over his use of N'Golo Kante but there is one key statistic that suggests the Italian had the right idea when he pushed the World Cup-winner higher up the pitch.
It is a metric topped by Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and sums up how the Blues have used the Frenchman to great effect, with other areas of the team and their head coach's system failing to perform.
After moving to Leicester City to drive their title-winning campaign in the 2015/16 season, Kante topped the tables for tackles won and interceptions made.
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He continued to shine by these numbers as he left the Foxes to join Chelsea in 2016 and win another Premier League title.
Sarri's side are well off the pace in the race to win the league this season but Kante continues to shine thanks to his capacity to win possession.
According to Squawka , he is second only to Salah for the number of times that he has won back the ball in the final third this season.
Previously, the France midfielder has impressed in a deeper, more defensive role sitting in front of a back three or a back four.
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For his country, he worked hard to allow Paul Pogba the freedom to shine at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the weeks following the tournament, that saw Kante become a world champion, he was given a new role by Sarri.
The 27-year-old was moved forward to play as more of a box-to-box player, with Jorginho signed to play the base of the midfield three.
So far, the results have not always been convincing, but based on what he has been asked to do, Kante has provided Chelsea with positives.
He has seized possession 31 times, only two times less than Salah, and has also produced his most prolific season as a goal-scorer since moving to England with a career-best three league goals.
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