A look at N’Golo Kante’s powerhouse display for Chelsea at the London Stadium

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N’Golo Kante has developed a reputation for his energetic displays for Chelsea this season, but it is not too often that he has had to do as much defensive work as he did in the opening stages of this encounter in east London on Monday night.

The Frenchman was kept busy in midfield, having to deal with the long ball threat posed by a West Ham side spearheaded by Andy Carroll. Such a style of play is far from Kante’s strength, but every second that the ball was down on the floor he made sure that his presence was felt, constantly looking to block off the West Ham moves at source by closing down their midfield before they could deliver the ball into the box.

There was no better example than perhaps his most crucial contribution of the game as he closed down Mark Noble out wide on the left flank. Noble looked set to deliver a cross into a packed Chelsea box, with both Hammers central defenders forward, but Kante forced him to play the ball short and intercepted the ball.

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Not content to sit in position, he launched a rapid counter-attack which culminated in Eden Hazard rounding goalkeeper Darren Randolph to find the back of the net after smart link up play with Marcos Alonso to beat Aaron Cresswell as the only defender to stay back for the home team.

That moment proved decisive in the game, as Chelsea grew in confidence from that moment on and began to dominate in terms of possession and chances, led by the energy of a tireless Kante who looked to press in injury time with the same drive and motivation that he showed in the opening encounters.

He may not catch the eye as much as some of his teammates, but Kante’s contribution of putting the key in the ignition and getting the engine going of Chelsea’s counter-attacking football showed its importance against Slaven Bilic’s team. Such a result may have been expected, but it will certainly be the kind of result that sees Kante become the first player to ever win the Premier League title in back to back seasons with different clubs.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Alex Hannam.