A section of Tottenham Hotspur supporters on social media sucked up their pride and hailed N’Golo Kante’s performance for Chelsea on Sunday.
Ultimately, it was the inclusion of Kante at half-time that propelled the Blues to all three Premier League points.
Tottenham held Thomas Tuchel’s team at bay for 45-minutes, but lost touch of the result following the Frenchman’s entrance.
Chelsea were able to ramp up the pressure and their persistence ultimately paid off.
Three goals after the interval sunk Spurs, the second of which arriving from Kante’s boot (via an Eric Dier deflection).
Scoring aside, the Parisian played his role excellently, becoming an extra offensive option to couple his customary defensive work.
Not usually ones to credit anything Chelsea-based, Spurs fans acknowledged how crucial the min-midfielder had been to their downfall.
Here’s how they reacted on Twitter:
Kante is the best in the world at what he does… Højbjerg is good at what he does…. not much more than that….
— Luke 👃🏻 (@Superspurs131) September 19, 2021
I dunno. We played extremely well first half, but then they put on Kante and changed gear. We can’t compete with that class of team I’m afraid. Pity we had no width, but the top four are way way in the distance. It’s a bugger. #coys
— Aitch (@HowardTHFC) September 19, 2021
Kante the catalyst
Adding the spice of Kante any later to the mixture might have ruined Chelsea’s chances of serving up a victory.
As it panned out, Tuchel got his timings and tactics spot on.
The Blues flew out of the blocks, boosted by the introduction of their no.7.
They mustered 10 shots on target in the second half, ten times the amount managed in the opening three-quarters of an hour.
Changing system completely altered the course of proceedings, all in favour of the away side.
Spurs simply couldn’t suppress the onslaught, relinquishing what had been a decent foothold in the match.
This switch in proceedings can largely be owed to Kante’s appearance, plus his first league strike in 49 outings.
Any fitness fears were wiped clean, as the 30-year-old bounded about the Tottenham pitch with great joy and enthusiasm.