No Kante, no party.
Time and time again N'Golo Kante has reminded us of just how important he is to Chelsea Football Club. I cannot stress this enough, if Kante is fit for a full season this Chelsea side will win the Premier League with ease. That's just a fact, I don't make the rules.
A world-class midfielder on the pitch and a solid guy off the pitch, Kante is the gift that keeps on giving and so it’s no surprise to see how Chelsea have suffered during his absence.
The Frenchman made the difference in the Carabao Cup clash against Brentford in midweek and I'm sure his return to the team will see an upturn in form.
So far this season, Kante has missed a total of 13 games for various reasons. Eight of these 13 absences have come in the Premier League, with Chelsea keeping just three clean sheets in said league outings.
Despite Thomas Tuchel continuing to adopt his now trademark back three, the work rate of Kante has been sorely missed and Chelsea have looked far more vulnerable without him in the team. The loss of Mateo Kovacic has also been a massive problem.
While Kante and Kovacic have been out, life as a Chelsea fan has not been great. There’s been a drought in clean sheets and the link-up between attack and defence has looked disjointed.
It’s been frustrating having to watch us play without that extra layer of protection. Even teams like Zenit Saint Petersburg - who held Chelsea to a 3-3 draw - have had a field day playing through our midfield.
Jorginho is the master when it comes to dictating play, but he's just not Kante. I don’t expect him to put in a Kante-esque shift but it's clear as day that the Italian needs his regular midfield partner next to him if Chelsea are to keep a clean sheet.
Anyway, enough of his defensive capabilities, let’s unpack how he singlehandedly dragged Chelsea through to the next round of the Carabao Cup against Brentford.
In a match where Chelsea’s intensity was not at its peak, the Blues needed an extra spark to get them over the finishing line.
It took 76 minutes for Tuchel to bring Kante on in place of Ross Barkley, but it took just 4 minutes for the Frenchman to make his mark. Kante drove forward before picking out Reece James whose cross was inadvertently put into his own net by Brentford's Pontus Jansson.
Kante was pivotal to our attack, bringing a burst of energy we'd lacked throughout.
Chelsea have got a whole host of match-winners within their squad, though not many would place Kante in such a category. The France international is viewed by many as a holding midfielder who just breaks up play, but the truth is he's arguably as important to his side's attack as he is the defence.
Make sure you have subscribed to CareFree Chelsea on YouTube! The Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Chelsea content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun, and interviews. You can follow Anita Abayomi from the CareFreeChelsea team to keep up to date with his work.
