Chelsea captain John Terry thrilled with 'revelation' Nemanja Matic

Matic made his 16th start from 17 Premier League games so far this season, anchoring the midfield alongside John Obi Mikel, as Chelsea claimed their eighth clean sheet in the English top flight this term.

Terry was thrilled with the performance of Matic, claiming the Serbian has gone to another level in 2014 since joining Chelsea in January.

Asked jokingly by Gary Neville on Sky Sports what he and central defensive partner Gary Cahill will get Matic for Christmas in thanks for all his hard work in front of them, Terry said: "Something really nice, I think.

"When me and Gaz [Cahill] have had him in front of us, he's been different class. He breaks the play up, he goes on those bursts, he's got a great burst of speed on him and opens up defences.

"But to have him there, cause he sits there, he wins every header, every tackle, he breaks the play when we get caught on the counter - he's been a revelation this year."

The win at the Britannia Stadium ensured Chelsea will lead the Premier League on Christmas Day - a great sign for Terry and Co. as seven of the last 10 teams to have done that have gone on to claim the title.

Chelsea lead reigning champions Manchester City by three points, while third-placed Manchester United are seven points further adrift.

But Terry refused to get caught up in statistics.
"You look at City, they've kind of come from nowhere really. Man United are back in the fold as well," he said.

"With the good teams around us, they can put a run of five or seven games together and all of a sudden they're back in it.

"It was an important win for us to secure that top spot for Christmas but it's a long way to go.

"We've got a tough game at home against West Ham [on Boxing Day] which was difficult last year.

"It's game by game at the moment."