‘His intensity is too high for us’: Lille coach reveals one Chelsea player who ruin their plans against Chelsea
French side Lille left Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League last-16 tie. However, they’ve still got the second leg at home to play in a bid to overturn the two-goal deficit.
However, Lille manager Jocelyn Gourvennec admitted that opposition player N’Golo Kante caught his eye after coming up against the Chelsea midfielder last night.
The Ligue 1 club held their own for large spells on their visit to London, but didn’t possess the cutting edge around the final third like their opponents.
Chelsea are the defending Champions League holders with a target on their back and looked sharp.
Lille boss Gourvennec singled out Blues central midfielder Kante as someone that was instrumental with his performance.
The 30-year-old set up his team’s second goal with a brilliant assist for Christian Pulisic, as well as buzz around the pitch for 90 minutes.
“He is an impressive player who gives others no time at all [on the ball]. He can break quickly, our man tried to foul him and couldn’t that moment was the key to the game. Through his intensity he dictated the tempo for Chelsea.” Gourvennec said.
Hopefully, Kante has still got several more years on top of his game. The fact Thiago Silva is still turning in world-class performances at the age of 37 is an encouraging sign.