Gary Cahill Has Reinvented Himself as Chelsea’s Captain Marvel

On the back of Chelsea’s New Year’s Eve victory against Stoke City, Antonio Conte was asked whether he could give one reason for why his team continues to roll from one win to the next.

The 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge was the Blues’ 13th consecutive Premier League victory. It continued their remarkable club record of straight wins while equalling Arsenal’s, which is the league’s best.

“In these situations, there are many things that help you to reach this type of result,” Conte responded. “Not only one. If there were only one reason, it would be very easy for all. I think there are many things that happened for us to have this great achievement.

“In football, it’s very important to have the balance always. If you’re overly defensive, it’s not good, and too much offensive, the same—it’s not good. You need the balance between the two. In my opinion, you can have more probability to win the game with that.”

Managers also need the right sort of characters in the dressing room. They need players like Gary Cahill.

The Englishman scored the game’s opening goal to give Chelsea the platform they needed to go on and seal the win. His header wasn’t particularly memorable, but the desire he showed to beat his man and power the ball into the corner was.

Cahill has been captain for all 13 of Chelsea’s games in this incredible run of form that has propelled them to the top of the table and made them title favourites. With no John Terry or Branislav Ivanovic in the side, the responsibility has fallen to him to be the leader, and he hasn’t shirked it once.

The 31-year-old’s ability to pick himself up from the setbacks he has faced this term have shown us a player who embodies everything Conte wants in his team. He’s endured errors and own goals, yet here he is, still influencing matches in the right way and forming a big part of what Chelsea are achieving. Cahill is a fighter.

His dip in form in the early part of the season saw a toxic backlash targeted at him. Cahill was being made a scapegoat by a …

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