Chelsea caretaker manager Frank Lampard is confident that “special” midfielder N’Golo Kante can make an impact in Wednesday’s clash with Real Madrid despite his recent long-term injury absence.
When Lampard left Kante out of the Chelsea squad for the trip to Wolves last Saturday, there were likely only a few people who were against the decision.
The Blues might have paid the price for it with the 1-0 defeat, but effectively everyone agreed that keeping Kante fit for the big match against Real Madrid should be the priority.
There is, of course, the obvious question of whether Kante can still be as influential as he was despite having played just twice since August.
Lampard argued that the France international has already proved that he could.
“I think N’Golo is a special player,” the Blues manager said in his press conference on Tuesday.
“I understand the [questions] about his consistency and the difficulties he’s had with injuries.
“But in terms of coming back and playing at a high level, I’ve witnessed him do it.
“He did it in the Super Cup final against Liverpool [in 2019]. He passed his fitness test, [hadn’t] trained for a long time, and he was the best player on the pitch for 120 minutes.
“I think he has the capacity to do that because he’s a special player, so hopefully he can do that for us.
“He’s that high-level a player, as a club we miss him because of how good he is.”
Well, based on Kante’s performance in the Liverpool draw, it is safe to say that Kante is more than capable of making an impact against even Real Madrid.
If, as Carlo Ancelotti said he might play the same eleven he used against Barcelona, Kante’s energy could prove crucial if Chelsea were to nullify the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield.
In addition to his obvious defensive prowess, the France international is also as important to Chelsea’s attack with his runs and ability to win the ball higher up the pitch.
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