For Tuchel (Chelsea), finishing third in the Premier League without Kanté is a « miracle »
For Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s third place in the Premier League is a » miracle “, given that it was necessary to do without N’Golo Kanté for a large part of the season. After the draw against Leicester on Thursday (1-1), the German coach compared the French midfielder to players like Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
» I think he’s our key, key, key playerTuchel insisted to journalists. But key, key, key players have to be on the pitch and he’s only played 40% of the games, so maybe it’s a miracle that we come in third place. He is our Mo Salah, he is our Van Dijk, he is our De Bruyne, he is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappé. »
Thomas Tuchel with N’Golo Kanté, in January 2022/ (C. Wilson/Presse Sports)
Kanté, who has a year left on his contract with Chelsea, had his season cut short due to groin and knee injuries as well as Covid-19. « He’s just that player, the guy who makes the difference and if you only have him 40% of the time, that’s a huge problem. », added the German. Before comparing the impact of the 31-year-old’s absence to that of Van Dijk’s injury at Liverpool last season: Given that percentage, it puts everything into perspective, because I saw Liverpool last season without Van Dijk and they struggled a lot. He is one of the best midfielders in the world. »
