Thiago Silva's Saturday, August 6 2022 will be remembered for the good and bad parts.
The good being the commanding performance he put in alongside Kalidou Koulibaly as the Blues achieved their first clean sheet of the season on the opening day of the 2022/23 campaign as a late Jorginho penalty in first half injury time was enough for Thomas Tuchel's side to creep over the line. It was an outing from the Brazilian, who turns 38 next month, that drew heavy praise not only from his manager but from the pundits covering the game. Both Duncan Ferguson and Jamie Redknapp waxed lyrical in their post-match analysis.
"He was fantastic wasn’t he. Great player, great career, 37, 38 this month. Incredible," the former Everton assistant manager said on Sky Sports' Saturday Night Football. This simple verdict was followed up by Redknapp's more elongated one: "Amazing player, he’s just got this ability, it’s like a magnet, he’s so calm. One of the great defenders I think we’ve ever seen. I think he’s won 33 major trophies, the only thing that has evaded him is the Champions League and that might be why he’s not in the bracket of Maldini, Baresi, he is one of the great defenders, a joy to watch. And to be still doing it at this level and looking so calm in what is a fast furious, just so assured."
