N’Golo Kante’s halftime introduction turned the game and the Frenchman bagged himself a goal as his effort took a heavy deflection off of Eric Dier to bobble in. And following the game, coach Thomas Tuchel was asked if Kante is as influential as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
Thomas Tuchel said: “He is a top player. If you have N’Golo, you have something everyone is looking for. You have everything that you need in midfield with work rate, intensity, ball wins, skillful play, off the ball, with the ball, dribbling and even a goal. I see this every day in training and it is hard to believe how good he is. He doesn’t make a fault in ball wins. He plays excellent in every possession game in training. He is a unique guy. There’s no more words needed from me. We have a strong midfield together with Jorgi and Kova in the second half. N’Golo is N’Golo. He is fantastic.”