EPL 2021-22: Thomas Tuchel surprised as Chelsea confirms 3rd spot despite missing N'Golo Kante
Chelsea drew Leicester City 1-1 in EPL 2021-22 on Thursday. Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel is surprised at The Blues confirming the third spot despite missing out on N'Golo Kante for most of the season.
FollowIt was not an ideal night out for third-placed Chelsea against ninth-placed Leicester City in the English Premier League (EPL) 2021-22. Played at Stamford Bridge in London on Thursday, both teams settled for a 1-1 draw, thanks to strikes from the visitor's James Maddison (6) and Marcos Alonso (34) of the host. With this draw, The Blues have confirmed its third spot in the tournament this season, while it finishes the season without any domestic or European success. Meanwhile, Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel is relatively surprised at his side sealing the third spot despite having missed out on midfielder N'Golo Kante for most of the season.
After the game, Tuchel analysed, "I think he is our key, key, key player. But, the key, key, key players need to be on the pitch, and he has played only 40 per cent of the games, so it is maybe a miracle that we arrive in third place. He is our Mo[hamed] Salah, he is our [Virjil] Van Dijk, he is our [Kevin] De Bruyne, he is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe."
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"He [Kante] is simply that player who makes the difference, and if you only have him 40 per cent of the time, it's a huge problem. Given that percentage, it's maybe a miracle how consistently we produced results. It puts everything into perspective because I saw Liverpool last season without Van Dijk, and they struggled heavily. You see the difference. N'Golo is our key player, and he needs to be on the pitch," added Tuchel.
Kante has been heavily injury-prone this season, suffering groin and knee problems, while Tuchel was hopeful of finding a solution. He also recalled how the Frenchman impacted Chelsea's UEFA Champions League (UCL) glory last season and even rated him as one of the best midfielders in the world. "Last year, they handed him the trophy before the match in the Champions League," recalled Tuchel.
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"It was clear he would be the man of the match. And, this guy who gets man of the match in every Champions League game is only here for 40 per cent of the matches, and that's huge for us. We do everything to solve it and him as well. I don't blame him. It's just a concern, and it's a fact that we miss him a lot because he brings something unique in world football and can lift everybody and make the difference," Tuchel concluded.
