Cesc Fabregas has assist taken away during live TV interview following Chelsea's win over Middlesbrough

The midfielder believed he registered his 11th assist of the season, only to be informed that one against Middlesbrough had been taken away due to a deflection

Cesc Fabregas discovered he'd had an assist taken away from him during a live TV interview (Sky Sports)

Cesc Fabregas was convinced that his lovely outside-of-the-boot assist for Nemanja Matic to score Chelsea’s third goal against Middlesbrough was his 11th of the season, only to be informed that he had an earlier one taken away during a live TV interview.

Fabregas claimed the man of the match award for his brilliant showing in Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough that not only relegated the north-east side but also put Antonio Conte and his team within one victory of the Premier League title, which they can claim this Friday when they take on West Bromwich Albion.

The victory was largely thanks to the virtuoso display from Fabregas, who admitted it was one of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt, and the Spanish midfielder had a telling contribution in the goals scored by Diego Costa and Matic that sandwiched a Marcos Alonso goal.

However, when speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Fabregas was quick to correct presenter Dave Jones that he had registered 11 assists, not 10, this season, only to be corrected due to a deflection on the pass through to Diego Costa by Middlesbrough’s Fabio.

“That’s some record, 11 starts, 10 assists Cesc,” Jones said, before Fabregas quickly interrupted with what he believed was the correct number.

“Well I’m not sure, I think one might have been taken off tonight because of the touch from Fabio, that’s the bad news, in the first goal.

“What?” Fabregas responded in bemusement. “No, no chance. It was meant for Costa all day long, I’m taking this one.”

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Jones saw the funny side of the conversation before sharing a joke with pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville in the Sky Sports studio, where Neville compared the comical moment to the incident between Geoff Shreeves and Branislav Ivanovic in 2012 when the Sky Sports interviewer informed the former Chelsea defender that he had been ruled out of the Champions League final.

“It wasn’t quite a Geoff Shreeves-Branislav Ivanovic moment but it’s similar!” Neville joked. “You’ve just popped his balloon”