John Obi Mikel is gradually getting his well deserved recognition for his inputs at Chelsea.
The Nigerian midfielder’s unbeaten record under Guus Hiddink has become well documented in recent weeks and that sequence continued at Watford on Wednesday.
Over two spells under the Dutchman, Mikel has gone unbeaten in 25 appearances for the Blues.
The run has included shut outs away to Barcelona and Manchester United, while there have been wins at Arsenal seven years apart.
The only game that Hiddink has lost so far as Chelsea boss came against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in 2009. Mikel was injured.
Mikel made four tackles, two clearances and three interceptions at Vicarage Road to emphasise his influence.
The 28-year-old was the only midfielder on the pitch to win possession of the ball more times than he surrendered it. It was classic Mikel.
His domination of the key central zone was particularly apparent in the recent 3-0 win at Crystal Palace, a game in which his name was chanted vociferously by the visiting supporters.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen John Obi Mikel play so well,” former Scotland coach, Graeme Souness, told Sky Sports. “He bossed that area.”
Hiddink, on the other hand, has seen it all before. “He’s the ideal player to bring balance to the team,” he said.
“If the team is not willing to defend well, or hasn’t got the right balance, then you’ll concede a lot of goals. I think John Obi can be one of the key figures in bringing back that balance.
“He reads the game very well; he knows where the strength of the opponent is and knows how to combat that. He has very good sense, he doesn’t do it in a brutal way, he’s very elegant.
“Someone who can defend so smoothly is very beautiful.”
It’s also effective. Chelsea have kept four clean sheets in six games since Mikel was restored to the starting line-up.
That’s as many as they managed in the previous 18 matches. Getting the basics right has been a feature of Hiddink’s approach. He’s kept things simple, and that’s just how Mikel likes it.
“It’s the way he communicates with the players and maybe that’s what the players felt they didn’t get from the previous manager,” said Mikel in a surprise dig at former boss Jose Mourinho.
“You need to speak to them and don’t just ignore them because players like to be communicated to.”
Mikel has the best passing accuracy of any Chelsea midfielder, finding a teammate 89.4 per cent of the time.
It’s almost a throwback to the pure holding midfielders of the past, such as one-time Chelsea teammate Claude Makelele.
“He’s good in short passing,” explained Hiddink. “I don’t expect and I don’t ask him to make the decisive final pass. He can but no, we let the other players do that.”
The streak is likely to continue when Chelsea face Manchester United on Sunday.
