Chelsea have Europe's best defensive midfielder in Nemanja Matic

The Serbian powerhouse has been garnering praise all season for his impressive displays in the middle of the park for the Blues, usually alongside Cesc Fabregas, and it begs the question as to whether he is the best at what he does.

Matic is a nasty player to line up against, because he doesn't shy away from a tackle, he is brilliant at winning the ball and he also knows what to do with it when he gets it.

Gary Neville spoke before the game on Monday night about Chelsea's "horrible" players, saying that the likes of the Blues and City had the type of players you need to win a title, whilst Liverpool and Arsenal have focused too heavily on technical qualities. That's not to suggest these players are not also technically gifted, but they are willing to get stuck in and do the dirty work as well.

Matic falls into this category for Chelsea, along with the likes of Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic. They are big, powerful, unforgiving players, who are just as likely to beat an opponent in a take-on as they are to leave him in a heap on the ground after a big challenge.

Neville cited players like Patrick Vieira, who was great on the ball, but also knew how to play physically - but fairly - off it. And Matic embodies that work ethic.

Matic completed 88% of his passes and successfully completed all three of his attempted take-ons at the Britannia, showing the more cultured side of his play. But he also made six tackles, six clearances, four blocks, won two headed duels and made two interceptions. He was absolutely impenetrable.

The most eye-catching of his challenges was an unbelievably well-timed slide on Stoke's Geoff Cameron, as the midfielder advanced on Chelsea's box. It ended the spell of pressure and allowed the Blues to regain possession and explode forward on the counter-attack.

It was a moment that perfectly sums up what Matic does for Chelsea. He protects their defence and aids their attack; there are few defensive midfielders that can rival him in those departments.

Of course some players are better at a specific things than Matic. Crystal Palace's Mile Jedinak dominates the tackle and interception charts among the Premier League's defensive midfielders, but that is largely due to the fact the Eagles rarely have the ball. Matic makes tackles and protects his defence in a team that is built for winning and domination, whilst Jedinak does it in a team set up to defend and counter.

However, Matic is a more complete player and is widely considered to be the best defensive midfielder in the league, if not the world. He is not a ball-playing central midfielder (though he is good with it) nor is he an outright midfield monster, scything people down and collecting bookings like they're going out of fashion. He is more than that.

When compared to the very best, Matic looks at home. He does not look out of place alongside Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm, Barcelona duo Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano, nor Roma great Daniel De Rossi, all of whom can pass a ball and create an attack, as well as expertly time a tackle to kill the opposition's momentum.

Matic has played more games than any of the other four this season, for a number of reasons, so some of his statistics are obviously going to be higher - i.e. he has played more games, therefore he has made more tackles. But he still looks solid when comparing their statistics per 90 metrics.

He has completed 88% of his passes this season, which is in the vicinity of the others, with Lahm completing 89%, De Rossi 90% and the Barcelona duo both completing 92% each. So it is fair to say he can compete with them in the passing stakes. In terms of assists, Matic averages 0.16 per 90, with only Lahm bettering him at 0.19.

Similarly, with tackles, Matic makes 2.88 per 90, to Busquet's 2.99 and Mascherano's 3.71 per 90, but as an overall total for this season, the Serbian is way out in front with 46.

None of the four come close to Matic with regards to the number of successful take-ons he completes per 90 (0.156), as the Serbian proves himself to be great at going forward, as well as defensively. Whilst only Busquets (1.87) and De Rossi (1.27) record more won aerial duels per 90 than Matic (1.25).

He is among the best when it comes to blocks and interceptions per 90 and tops the charts for the number of clearances his makes, proving himself to be among the elite defensive midfielders in Europe. Arguably, he is the best, currently, as he has played more games than the rest and is still achieving these impressive numbers.

When looking at his totals for the season, Matic dominates - as you would expect, given he has played more games - but that is also a testament to his ability. He has become virtually undroppable for the Blues. And the ultimate accolade? The one game he missed this season is the only game they lost: away to Newcastle United. Simply put, with him they are contenders for every trophy going. When they had to do without him, the team looked all at sea.