Chelsea are 20 games without defeat this season but Nemanja Matic will never again be deceived by the illusion of a long unbeaten run.

The pain remains fresh from the time when Benfica did not lose until the 29th and penultimate game of the Portuguese season — and still did not emerge with the title.

Porto finished one point better off in a season when Benfica were also beaten in the Portuguese Cup final and lost to Chelsea in the Europa League final.

Nemanja Matic (right) fights for the ball with Connor Wickham during Chelsea's game against Sunderland

Matic has received plaudits for his impressive performances in holding midfield for Chelsea this season

‘We lost three titles in two weeks,’ recalled Matic. ‘It was very hard to take. These things happen only one season in a thousand years. We played well the whole season and were unbeaten for so long. It shows you can never be certain of anything.

‘If we want to win the league we must continue like this until the end. Even if we’re top and unbeaten with two games to go we must not believe we’ve won it. We must not stop until the title is ours. We must fight and at Chelsea I believe we are ready for that.’

Having dropped two points at Sunderland on Saturday, the Barclays Premier League leaders are now six clear of champions Manchester City as they move into a congested December fixture list, starting at home to Tottenham on Wednesday.

Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas have taken so much of the credit for Chelsea’s best-ever start but those inside the camp know the contribution of Matic has been immense.

His midfield power provides the platform for others to sparkle and it is a role he relishes, even though he was a creative No 10 before being converted by Benfica boss Jorge Jesus into the position made famous at Stamford Bridge by Claude Makelele.

Matic (centre left) appears with Tottenham's Harry Kane (centre right) ahead of the release of game 'The Crew'

Matic (top) vies for the ball with West Brom's Saido Berahino during a Premier League match in November

‘I’m happy to be asked about Makelele,’ said Matic. ‘That means I must be doing something right. Makelele is just a legend; one of the best players in the history of Chelsea. I know what I can do. I work really hard and the people will have to decide if we compare. This is my job.

‘The defensive midfielder has to win the ball and give it to the attacking players to create the game. We all do what we have to do in the game. We are happy like this.

‘I used to play as a No 10 before I was tall like this. But in this team? No, the others are better than me. I will stay where I am, in defensive midfield.’

Matic has travelled far since he was released by the academy at Red Star Belgrade. ‘I was there almost five years and one day they said there was no space for me and I had to move,’ he said.

Matic (right) was a No 10 before Jorge Jesus turned him into a holding midfielder at Benfica

Matic is flattered by the comparisons between himself and former Chelsea holding midfielder Claude Makelele

From Serbia’s most famous club he dipped briefly into Serbia’s lower leagues and, six months later, at 18, signed for Kosice in Slovakia.

‘I was young and alone there,’ said Matic. ‘I didn’t know the language. I didn’t have friends and family and things like this have made me stronger.’ Legend has it, Red Star thought he was too frail, but Matic has filled out his 6ft 4in frame to become a muscular force to match his father Dragan, once a combative central midfielder in the Yugoslav second division.

‘I have seen some of his games on video cassettes but I’ve told him it was not good football, you can (pass) the ball back to the goalkeeper,’ smiled Matic. ‘I cannot speak to him about football because he is never happy with my game. If I do something great, he doesn’t see this. He only picks up on my mistakes.

‘He watches all my games on TV in Serbia, with his friends and after the game he will send me a message if we win: “Congratulations, but…”.’

Matic (right) not only lost out on the Portuguese title after 28 games unbeaten at Benfica, but they also lost to Chelsea in the Europa League final in the same season (pictured)

Matic is comforted by now team-mate Branislav Ivanovic after the Europa League final in May 2013

Tough-love roles change when it comes to his younger brother Uros, who has followed a similar path via Kosice and Benfica and now plays for NAC Breda in Holland.

‘He has quality but he needs to work a lot,’ said Matic. ‘I tell him to work hard and fight for his position. He needs to do better if he wants to go to a better level.’

Hard knocks have made Matic the midfield warrior he is. He faced rejection at youth level and again when Chelsea signed him in 2009, only to let him leave for Benfica 18 months later as a makeweight in the David Luiz deal.

‘To be honest it was not easy,’ he said. ‘Everybody was asking why I was back, but I wanted to show I had quality to play for Chelsea in the Premier League. When I first came, I was very young, and now I’m 26 and it is a big difference. I have lots of experience.

‘At Benfica, I played in the Champions League, I fought every year for the title and these things have made me stronger. I did good work in Benfica. I always fought for a position with the big players and this has made me better.’

Since his return to Chelsea in January, he has become one of the pillars of a team comfortable with the challenge of stretching their unbeaten run into the New Year and beyond. ‘You can say the record is putting pressure on us but I would rather have it this way than lose,’ said Matic, who has only lost four times in 42 Chelsea appearances.

‘I want to win every game. We are only interested in winning. It will be difficult to go through the whole season — we have many games to play against very good teams — but anything is possible. We know our qualities and what we can do. Maybe we can lose. Maybe we can remain unbeaten.

‘Let’s see. It depends only on us. If we win every game we are going to be champions. We know that is going to be hard but we are ready to fight.’

Nemanja Matic was appearing at a photo-shoot with a crew of fans to celebrate the launch of The Crew, a revolutionary new action-driving game from Ubisoft, out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.



