From our special correspondent in London,
We had lost sight of him a little lately. Between injury and blows of less well, N’Golo Kante briefly disappeared from radar. Unfortunately for Losc, the Chelsea midfielder resurfaced on Tuesday in the Champions League by splashing the match with his class and contributing to the success of the Blues (2-0) in the round of 16 first leg.
Decisive passer on the second goal scored by Pulisic, ball scraper, stainless lung, the French world champion had a high class match “I am very satisfied with his match. In recent weeks he has struggled to regain his strength and rhythm after his injury but he is back to his best. It’s good that he raised his level today and we see his impact on the team, it changes a game for you, ”appreciated his coach. Thomas Tuchel.
Return to foreground
After an average start to the season rotten by a knee injury and Covid contamination, the 30-year-old is returning to his best level. Executioner of Lille on Tuesday evening at Stamford Bridge, Kanté impressed Jocelyn Gourvennec.
“He is very good at putting pressure on the ball carrier inside the game. He has impressive support, he advances a lot on the opponent, he projects quickly, he goes very quickly, he touches a lot of balls . He was able to set the tempo of his team in intensity, he is very good at it” recognizes the Lille coach.
He ate the Lille defense all by himself on the second goal
And Kanté in all this? What did he think of his match? Questioned on Canal + after the match, he obviously did not pull the cover to him. And explained his rise in power in the second half by a tactical change linked to Kovacic’s injury exit. “He came out and we changed the device, I was more forward and I had a few balls to play more in front. I am happy to have contributed on the second goal to give the advantage to the team, ”reacted the player.
If he weren’t so modest, Kanté could have said that he single-handedly ate up Losc’s defense starting from midfield to serve on a Pulisic plateau, poor Xeka trying in vain to cling to the tricolor dragster for 20 meters before letting go. He could have added that qualifying for the quarterfinals was almost in his pocket, but the Frenchman, at the end of his contract in 2023 with Chelsea, preferred to say that the return “was going to be difficult because 2-0 is not enough”. Nice try but no one believes you N’Golo.