Thomas Tuchel delighted that the real N'Golo Kante 'stepped up' in Champions League victory over Lille
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ByEurosport
Updated 22/02/2022 at 22:58 GMT
Thomas Tuchel admitted after Chelsea's win over Lille that he felt N'Golo Kante had been underperforming in recent weeks, but put in a far more confident display against Lille on Tuesday night and labelled him a "gamechanger" in his team. Tuchel also regrets not substituting Mateo Kovacic earlier as he picked up an injury shortly after half-time, while Hakim Ziyech also left the match injured.
N'Golo Kante
Image credit: Getty Images
Thomas Tuchel was delighted with an improved performance from N'Golo Kante in Chelsea's comfortable 2-0 win over Lille in the Champions League last-16 first leg,
The Chelsea midfielder impressed against the Ligue 1 champions and helped the Champions League holders keep a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel admitted he did not feel Kante was playing at his highest level in recent matches, but delivered a great performance against Lille.
"I was pleased with Kante," he told BT Sport after the match.
"It was not the real N’Golo in recent matches. He struggled a bit with his belief and in his intensity and in his game in general.
"It was good that he stepped up today. He is our gamechanger and I am very happy with him and the team."
Tuchel was also pleased his side kept a clean sheet and felt his side deserved the victory.
"Yet another clean sheet and a deserved clean sheet," he said.
"It was hard work to not allow chances. They were a strong team and in the game it was a little bit up and down. We had some very good moments, some a bit weaker. Some unforced errors where we sometimes suffered.
"But we never gave away big chances and we were solid. It was hard teamwork and it was a tough game but a deserved win."
Mateo Kovacic was substituted in the 51st minute with an injury, while Hakim Ziyech also had to be withdrawn on the hour mark.
Tuchel hopes both will be fit in time for Chelsea's League Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
He said: "I should have substituted Kovacic earlier at half-time so we could have saved one more change.
"I didn’t see Hakim’s injury. I hope it’s not serious. It’s a little bit the story of the season but almost every second game we have to do substitutes only because of injuries and not for tactical reasons. It follows us.
"There is a lot of days for us to recover to be ready on Sunday. In general we don’t like injuries and like to make tactical substitutes. I hope the guys will be ready on Sunday."
HAVERTZ: I ENJOY PLAYING AS A STRIKER
Kai Havertz led the line for Chelsea ahead of Romelu Lukaku who was dropped to the bench after making only seven touches against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Germany international said he likes playing as the striker.
"It is good for me (playing advanced forward)," he said. "We have a lot of good strikers so it is also good to have a change and not make it easy for the opposition. Today it worked good and I enjoy every forward position.
"We did not play our best football, we could not get the aggressiveness of the last few weeks but we won 2-0 and that is the most important thing. Sunday is another competition and we have to focus on that now.
"It is crazy, we have a lot of chances to win another trophy on Sunday, it will be a tough game. We will put all our strength together and hope we win this game."
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