An all-action performance from Andrey Santos against Burnley saw him chosen by supporters on the Chelsea Official App as our Player of the Match, thanks to his important contribution on and off the ball.
After spending time away on loan to continue his development, Santos has returned to Chelsea this season all the better for it, and is playing an increasingly important role for Enzo Maresca’s Blues.
The Brazilian has had to be patient waiting for his opportunities, with some stiff competition for places in midfield, not least from fellow South Americans Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
Santos made his ninth Premier League appearance of the season at Turf Moor, but it was only the third of those which has come from the start, as he stood in for Caicedo to partner Fernandez in the centre.
Moises has been a stand-out performer for Chelsea throughout our 2025/26 campaign so far. Perhaps the biggest compliment for Santos was how little we felt Caicedo’s absence from the line-up in Burnley.
He clearly impressed the supporters, with 64 per cent voting the 21-year-old as our Player of the Match. It may have been Pedro Neto and Fernandez who got the goals in a 2-0 win, but Santos’ role was crucial in linking things together on the pitch, in and out of possession.
No player on the pitch outside of the two respective back fours had as many touches on the ball as Santos’ 62, as he repeatedly dropped deep to collect possession and receive the first forward pass out of defence when we built our attacks.
It is exactly the same when you look at his passes and completed passes. No midfielder or forward at Turf Moor could better his 34 completed passes, with an accuracy of 81 per cent. Five of those came in the final third, with one chance created, as the Brazilian stepped forward to support the attack on occasion.
Arguably more important, though, given the absence of Caicedo and the midfield shield he provides, was the defensive work Santos put in to protect our defence at the other end of the pitch. That was demonstrated by the fact no player made more than his two successful tackles, and only our centre-back pairing of Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo won more than his two duels.
A real all-round performance then, contributing on and off the ball, at both ends of the pitch. No wonder he was the Chelsea fans’ pick as our Player of the Match.