Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho heaps praise on Nemanja Matic, calling the midfielder 'a giant' after he dominated Liverpool

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Jose Mourinho wanted to get his point across. Leaning against a wall not far from Chelsea’s dressing room, the topic of Nemanja Matic had arisen and Mourinho was ready to talk.

‘Please give him what he deserves,’ Mourinho implored. ‘He was signed in the most difficult market for players (January) so the second half of last season was a space of improvement and adaptation for him. At this moment, he’s a giant. Not for his size but for the way he plays. The man is a giant.’

Among the many in blue shirts who had starred during Chelsea’s commanding 2-1 victory at Anfield, from the beguiling Eden Hazard to the combative John Terry, nobody surpassed the hulking Serbian enforcer, who trampled all over Liverpool’ s ambitions.

Jose Mourinho (left) has praised the impact of Nemanja Matic (right) since joining Chelsea in January

Matic (left) celebrates Chelsea pulling level against Liverpool on Sunday through a Gary Cahill (right) goal

Mourinho (above) gives his team an instruction in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday

Chelsea are moving relentlessly towards the title and, should they achieve their objective, it is inevitable that members of the Stamford Bridge battalion will be scoop both the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards.

Costa, of course, will command his share of the votes. Cesc Fabregas, too, for the artistry and style he has provided. Mourinho’s two major summer signings have made huge contributions to Chelsea's unblemished start.

But why not Matic? He won’t take the breath away with skill, he won’t be chipping in with a bundle of goals but his importance to Chelsea in the games that matter is beyond question. Anfield didn’t bother him in the same way he never batted an eyelid at the Etihad Stadium or Old Trafford.

Football has changed over the last decade, with a different type of midfielder, emerging but Matic is a throwback, a man who will shield his defence in the same way Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane did. And, just like those two warriors, he knows how to play.

‘Matic is a player who gives balance to a team,’ Rui Costa, Benfica’s sporting director, told Sportsmail earlier this year. ‘He is someone with a great positioning and he is intelligent in the way he moves and passes the ball. He is an outstanding player.’

Matic (left) battles Emre Can (centre) and Steven Gerrard (right) for possession as Chelsea beat Liverpool

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson (left) tries to keep the ball as Matic (right) attempts to close him down

He is every inch a Mourinho player, the engine of this team. He covered 12.4km against Liverpool at the weekend, destroying everything that came near him; he won five tackles and used the ball sensibly when it came to his feet.

Those numbers match what he did at the Etihad, when 100 per cent of his challenges were successful; that day his passing accuracy was 88.46 per cent and he ran 11.5km. The example he is setting is drive Chelsea forward.

‘I was a champion in different countries with different clubs and there are points that are always present,’ said Mourinho. ‘I had it here in my first spell and I’m having it now. You have to have people who are ready to sacrifice themselves, people that push to help. I’m so pleased about that.’

Such is the esteem in which Mourinho holds Matic, he chose him to deliver the team talk at Anfield. It is a tactic the Chelsea manage uses every week but, given the venue, it was significant that the Serb was handed the responsibility.

‘Everyone has their place in the team and knows what it is,’ Cesar Azpilicueta explained. ‘The whole squad know we have to fight together. Some players have more talent, some score goals, and sometimes we have to defend for them. But the main thing is we do it all as a team.

Matic (right) left Chelsea to play for Benfica in Portugal, but returned to Stamford Bridge in January

Cesar Azpilicueta (left) celebrates Chelsea's 2-1 win at Anfield alongside captain John Terry (right) at full time

Matic (left), Terry (third right) and Azpilicueta (second right) celebrate the victory with their team-mates

‘Nemanja said that if we wanted to be champions we had to win. If that is the target – to be champions – then you have to come to these sort of stadiums and get a result. He said would be really hard but we have to do a great job – and we have to win.’

The intensity of his words matched the intensity of his performance. Matic is not an artist but, of the all signings Mourinho has made since returning to Stamford Bridge, his decision to bring back the 26-year-old from Benfica for a second spell might just be the smartest.

Should Matic continue in such devastating form, he will give his fellow professionals something to think about. As Mourinho says, it is credit he deserves.