What if the thinning was coming soon? With the return of N’Golo Kanté, the sky may turn blue again at Chelsea. This Tuesday evening, in a late match of the 8th day of the Premier League, a match which had been postponed to September due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Chelsea certainly did not win against Liverpool (0-0) but Londoners have less blues thanks to their French international.
Injured in the hamstrings since a last match against Tottenham (2-2) on August 14, the Frenchman has been sorely missed by Chelsea, who have not been able to do it since. Falling to eleventh place in the Premier League, the club lived through its crisis by changing coaches three times (German Thomas Tuchel, Englishman Graham Potter and finally Spaniard Bruno Saltor).
Inducted at the head of Chelsea on Sunday evening, the Spanish coach bet on N’Golo Kanté for his official first against Liverpool. For the tricolor midfielder, this first tenure marks above all his comeback after his physical glitches which had deprived him of participation in the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year.
The former Caen player entered in the 57th minute last Saturday against Aston Villa, replacing Loftus-Cheek. An entry that did not allow Chelsea to avoid defeat (0-2) and the dismissal of Graham Potter.
This Tuesday against Liverpool (0-0), the French midfielder gave color to a London team that was terribly lacking. Also named captain by Saltor, Kanté was sparkling during the 70 minutes of his presence on the ground at Stamford Bridge. After his exit, replaced by Conor Gallagher, Chelsea’s game was significantly less successful.
For his big comeback, N’Golo Kanté let all his talent shine, like on the best day, when Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021. In just over an hour, Kanté has achieved almost everything on the pitch. His statistics are also breathtaking: 100% successful tackles and dribbles, 92% successful passes, 8 balls recovered, 5 ground duels won out of 6.
Figures that make any self-respecting football fan dizzy, but also cold sweats for Liverpool players. The latter only owe their salvation to a lack of offensive realism from the opposing attackers.
Kanté’s return is good news for a moribund club hoping to salvage their Champions League season. On April 12, the English travel to Real Madrid to challenge the defending champion in the quarter-finals.
Tasty anecdote in the last three games of N’Golo Kanté, his team, Chelsea has been led by three different coaches. A particularity not so common in football…