Former Premier League defender Adrian Mariappa thinks some young players in the game can learn from one Chelsea star.
Mauricio Pochettino‘s men finished the season strongly, beating Bournemouth 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
It was Chelsea‘s fifth consecutive win and helped the club to finish sixth in the table.
It means the Blues have now qualified for next season’s Europa League, though Manchester United winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City would see them relegated to the Europa Conference League.
Whatever the case, Pochettino can probably be satisfied with how the campaign finished given where his team were for the majority of it. Amid all of the uncertainty surrounding his future, it has been suggested that the Argentine wants to remain in west London.
Defenders need to watch Chelsea star
Chelsea have a lot of good defenders, including Reece James, Thiago Silva, Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella.
Silva and Cucurella both started in the Blues’ last Premier League game of the season, and Mariappa thinks the former is such a great example for young centre-backs.
Commentating on the game for the BBC, he said: “Any young centre-half or any centre-half who wants to learn — just watch Thiago Silva and study him. He has been a pleasure to have in the Premier League.”
Pochettino recently stated that Silva has had a “fantastic career”.
Is Thiago Silva the only Chelsea defender others can learn from?
As well as Silva, his captain is another defender who can be used as an example, but in this instance for full-backs.
James is the complete full-back, able to defend and attack.
His attacking ability was on display in Chelsea’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest when the 24-year-old assisted Nicolas Jackson for the winner.
In a 4-4 draw with Manchester City all the way back in November, James also recorded five tackles. It was the most in the game, according to WhoScored.
