Chelsea defeated Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United 1-0 thanks to Man Of The Match N’Golo Kante’s wonderful strike from 25 yards out.
Kante, who scored his second goal of the season—his first coming against Monday’s opponents in a 4-0 win in October—was unequivocally the best player on the 73-yard Stamford Bridge pitch as he continued to support the popular belief that he is worth two players in the middle of the park.
Not only were the Frenchman’s defensive contributions great throughout—that’s become the norm for him—but offensively he was fantastic, too, especially in the second period. It’s indicative of just how much Kante has improved since his £32 million move from Leicester City in July.
Renowned solely for his defensive talents when he joined, his freakish stamina, his ability to intercept and tackle even the most talented players at ease, it seems people are finally beginning to take notice of the improvement made by Kante with the ball at his feet.
In the 3-4-3, normally alongside Nemanja Matic, the case on Monday night, it is mostly Kante’s responsibility in central midfield to bring the ball out and try to pick out the best possible pass; he always sees a lot more of the ball than his midfield counterpart when his side are in complete control, like against United. Slowly but surely, since the change in shape to 3-4-3 at the start of October—and the switch to the two-man midfield of Matic and Kante—the latter’s technical ability, and his passing, have substantially improved. It was evident in the FA Cup quarter-final tie, where Kante impressively worked himself out of some tight spaces and showed impressive improvisation on the ball at times, like on one such occasion, when he sent Marouane Fellaini flying on the edge of the United box after faking a shot.
It’s not necessarily something you would expect out of last season’s Premier League winner. This game was a mark of how much better of a football player Antonio Conte has made him.
Defensively, Kante was sound as ever. His compatriot, Paul Pogba, particularly after Michael Oliver sent Ander Herrera on his marching orders after two yellow cards, did not have much space to operate in, making just 20 accurate passes and losing possession 21 times to Kante’s 14. People love to slag Pogba for his ineffectiveness, and while he should be producing more with such a hefty price tag to his name, you can’t really do much when Kante is in the type of form he was Monday. It was more Nemanja Matic from the off who was handed the task of neutralising the considerable talents of the world’s most expensive player.
Then, when Herrera was sent off, Kante had more space in midfield, and he got closer and closer to Pogba, forcing him to give up possession.
Lastly, the audacity from Kante to try on the shot for the goal when 20 other players on the pitch, 40,000 odd at Stamford Bridge and millions watching around the world believed he would lay it off to another Chelsea player was startling. Again, it epitomises just how far he has come and the confidence he has developed in his attacking ability.
It was a fantastic performance from Kante once again, and it certainly won’t be his last in a blue shirt.
