Chelsea strolled to a 3-0 win over Middlesbrough on Monday night at Stamford Bridge to put them within just one more victory of the Premier League crown.

Meanwhile, the away side were condemned to the Championship next season as the result confirmed their relegation from England’s top flight.

Fans would’ve been eager to double Player of the Year N’Golo Kante in action but having failed to recover from a knock, Cesc Fabregas came into the fray instead.

Here, we focus on the Spaniard’s performance.

Basic stats

Fabregas

Goals – 0

Assists – 2

Shots – 2

Pass accuracy – 84.2%

Passes – 114

Key passes – 6

Touches – 130

Dribbles – 0

Dispossessed – 0

Effectiveness

Diego Costa, Marcos Alonso and Nemanja Matic got the goals but the man pulling the string in midfield was Fabregas.

The scenario was perfect for the Spaniard and he thrived in it. Chelsea played free of pressure against a demoralised group of Middlesbrough players. The hosts had plenty of the ball and that meant that Fabregas was able to use it to dictate play.

Virtually every attack went through him and he even provided the assists for the first and third goals. For the second goal as well, it was his pass to Cesar Azpilicueta that led to the wing-back picking out Alonso at the far post.

Fabregas got into the action as early as the second minute when he clipped a diagonal ball to the left from which Alonso struck the crossbar. That diagonal pass continued to cause problems all game as Alonso almost played as an extra winger.

Key moments

17th min: Costa plays the ball to Hazard who made a run down the left. The Belgian slows down at the byline, takes his time and picks out Fabregas at the edge of the box. The midfielder strikes the ball first-time but his effort skews wide.

23rd min: Another diagonal ball to the left from Fabregas sees Costa get on the end of it. He takes a touch to set himself and then slots the opening goal through Brad Guzan’s legs.

65th min: A short corner finds Eden Hazard who drives in field and then reverses a pass to Fabregas who has plenty of space in the box. However, he chooses to dink a delightful pass with the outside of his boot to Matic who chests it down and drills it home expertly.

Our verdict

The 30-year-old was simply phenomenal on the night. He orchestrated proceedings for Chelsea and reminded everyone of his unmistakable class.

It has to be said that it was a relatively easy game for a pass master of his pedigree to dominate but there’s no doubt that he went about his job with a level of pomp and panache that only the very best can muster.

A goal would have capped a perfect performance from the former Barcelona and Arsenal man but two assists proved a healthy return. It’s amazing to think that he isn’t a mainstay in this Chelsea side storming towards a well-deserved title.

8/10

Your verdict

All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com