Cesar Azpilicueta was full of praise of N’Golo Kante and said he lost count of how many times the midfielder regained possession for Chelsea in the Champions League final.
Kante, once again, was named man of the match at a big Champions League stage, his third consecutive award including the two semi-final legs win over Real Madrid.
The 30-year-old is the type of player that anyone would want to play alongside, but no one would appreciate him and his work rate more than the Chelsea defenders.
Azpilicueta certainly does.
“Straight forward, no,” the Spain international said during his post-match press conference when asked whether there is currently a better player than Kante in his position.
“He does everything, the energy he brings. I don’t know how many ball recoveries he had today.
“The way he drives the ball forward, he covers so much ground — this is special to have him.
“Of course, when we did not have him, we missed him.
“For him, after winning the World Cup, winning the Champions League but he’s so humble as a person, I’m so happy for him.
“He’s a massive part of this team and I’m very happy to have him next to me.”
The answer to how many ball recoveries that Kante had in the final is 10 –which is unsurprisingly also the highest in the game.
He also attempted three tackles in the game, all successful, and made one interception.
Although, it seems to be the norm for him at this point.
Not me, us, says Kante
Asked about being awarded man of the match, Kante, as you would expect, insisted that it was a collective effort.
“It is a result of a lot of effort together,” the France international told Virgin Media Sport in his post-match interview.
“Some results were good, some bad — but we stayed together.
“We did very well in the second part of the season, and we enjoy this title together.”
Read also:
- Nevin shares what Tuchel told Chelsea fans 10 minutes before Champions League final win
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