Roberto De Zerbi fielded arguably his strongest midfield three against Chelsea, and the combination played a huge part in helping Tottenham secure their first win at Stamford Bridge in more than eight years.

Tottenham did not have a single deep-lying playmaker in their squad last season, but the £85m arrival of Mateus Fernandes is already proving to be money well spent. The Portuguese midfielder produced an outstanding performance against Chelsea, making just his third Premier League start for Spurs but his first in his preferred number eight position.

His previous two starts came when De Zerbi had no natural number 10 available and attempted to make things work by using Fernandes in that role. It did not quite go to plan, but the Chelsea game showed exactly why Tottenham spent so much money on him.

Sandro Tonali, meanwhile, arrived from Newcastle United for a club-record £100m fee and is also beginning to justify that enormous price tag. The Italian started the season slowly, inviting plenty of questions about the investment, but has now produced three consecutive performances worthy of a man-of-the-match award.

More importantly, this was the first time we saw Fernandes and Tonali start a Premier League game together as a midfield pivot since their summer arrivals. And it is fair to say that it has been years since Tottenham’s midfield looked this strong and stable.

The £185m spent on the pair suddenly looks a lot less frightening. Let’s look at why.

Mateus Fernandes records Tottenham’s most touches by a midfielder this season

What an incredible performance from the 22-year-old on such a big night. Fernandes recorded a match-high 124 touches against Chelsea, alongside the most defensive contributions (14), passes into the final third (11), line-breaking passes (27), tackles (5), completed passes (91) and chances created (2).

Phew. Take a breath.

De Zerbi has used several midfielders in Fernandes’ position in previous games, including Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and even Tonali. None, however, has managed to perform the role so effectively from such a deep position.

In fact, Fernandes’ 124 touches were the most recorded by any Tottenham midfielder in a single game this season. Tonali’s 104 touches in the goalless draw vs Everton last month, were the highest up until then.

But the real story was never simply about the number of touches. It was about where Fernandes made those touches and what he did with them.

Chelsea frequently had Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers dropping into midfield, with Geovany Quenda and Pedro Neto occupying the last line. Their attacking shape resembled a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-2-1-3, but Tottenham’s organisation without the ball prevented the hosts from controlling possession as they would have liked.

The key was Fernandes receiving the ball inside Chelsea’s block, between their first and second lines of pressure. He did not drop alongside his centre-backs or move out towards the full-backs, where he would have had more space and an easy, boring job, but less opportunity to hurt his opponent.

Instead, he received the ball in central areas, where he could eliminate multiple opponents with one pass or turn. And that is exactly where Fernandes made his mark.

In both of the examples shown above, he receives a short pass from the back and immediately finds himself surrounded by three Chelsea players. Yet he remains calm, takes his first touch and plays his way out of the pressure. He makes it look so much easier than it actually is, and that’s definitely not something normal.

Receiving the ball in those areas is so damaging because, once Fernandes escapes the press, Chelsea’s front line is effectively taken out of the game. Their players are facing the wrong way and must turn around to chase back, leaving Tottenham in a position to progress the ball quickly.

And this is where Tonali comes into the picture.

Sandro Tonali gives Mateus Fernandes the perfect midfield partner at Tottenham

Look at Tonali’s positioning in both examples. It is almost identical, and that is no coincidence.

Throughout the game, the Italian displayed excellent positional intelligence and defensive security, covering the lateral spaces and ensuring Fernandes always had an option when Chelsea tried to close him down.

In both situations, Tonali moved forward into the right position to receive the ball, help Fernandes escape the pressure and move Tottenham into the next phase of the attack. Even when Jordan Henderson was marking him, Tonali’s open body receptions allowed Spurs to progress the ball rather than being forced backwards.

These were just two examples. On several other occasions, Tonali did well to help Tottenham to play through Chelsea’s congested central pressure without slowing the tempo. He was constantly available to help Fernandes, and the pair’s understanding made it far easier for Spurs to progress through the middle.

That is the difference between simply having two expensive midfielders and having two expensive midfielders who complement one another.

De Zerbi’s philosophy relies heavily on playing through the press from the back and progressing the ball through central areas. And there are very few midfielders better suited to that approach than Fernandes and Tonali, particularly when both are allowed to operate in their natural roles.