Gary Lineker has says that Chelsea defender Thiago Silva is "ridiculously good" after the centre-back racked up a hugely impressive stat during his performance in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Lille.
Silva, 37, will be turning 38 in September but against all logic, he seems to be improving as he slowly approaches the age of 40.
No wonder the Blues board were quick to secure him down for the upcoming 2022/23 season, with the importance of his leadership to European and world champions' success clearly outlines since he signed on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2020.
Since that switch across the channel, Chelsea's defence has become rock solid and Tuchel's lieutenant has played a big part in this change from the wobbly rear-guard that was evident under Frank Lampard's reign.
A Champions League title coupled with success in the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup has been the return that the central defender has earned since agreeing a Premier League move and he is certainly not willing to let his 'dream' in west London end anytime soon with more potential silverware success on the immediate horizon with the Carabao Cup final his next opportunity.
"I feel like I’m living a dream here at Chelsea. I wasn’t expecting something like that," he said in the aftermath of the Lille win.
Despite not having too much to do in Chelsea's win against Lille in the Champions League round of 16 first-leg, the Brazilian international was there to be relied upon when it really mattered.
On one occasion in the second half when Lille forayed forward on one of their rare attacks, the Blues found themselves outnumbered. Just as the ball was about to be crossed in, Chelsea's No.6 was in the perfect position to intercept.
The sort of defending that would be seen by the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, who has been labelled by some as the best in the world but it's easy for rival fans to just forget how good Silva is.
Some completely wrote him off before he even kicked a ball in the Premier League due to his age, but Silva has aged to perfection to show that class is permanent.
On top of that one moment of defending that has been picked out by many journalists who attended Tuesday night's affair, an interesting stat that appeared post-match from Opta read that the defender won possession 12 times against Lille, the most he's ever done so in a Champions League match, with the win against Lile his 94th appearance in the competition.
No wonder when all things were taken into account that Silva himself scored a big 9 out of 10 in football.london's player ratings from the first leg: "There are very few 37 years old who make football look as easy as Silva, especially at the very top level that is the Champions League. The Brazilian made important blocks early on before he roared at supporters in the Matthew Harding Lower.
'It is no coincidence that Silva always appears to be in the right position. He is one of the best around and that was highlighted in the second half as, during a Lille break, he directed Christensen in addition to tracking the ball. When it was delivered into the penalty area, Silva was there intercept. Pure class. 9."
Finally, to top off what has been a great year and a bit so far for Silva in England, former Three Lions icon Lineker has sent his verdict on a player that has been waxed lyrical over by many people in football recently.
On Lineker's twitter account @GaryLineker, he said: 'How good is Thiago Silva? I’ll answer that myself: ridiculously good. A wonderful defender who’s defying Father Time.'
