Chelsea fans may have tuned into Monday night’s clash between France and Austria with the sole purpose to watch former player N’Golo Kante in action.
France ended up beating Austria 1-0 in the group stage match at Euro 2024
Surprisingly, N’Golo Kante, 33, started in the French midfield and played the full 90 minutes.
He may have spent the last year in the Saudi Arabia league since leaving Chelsea on a free transfer, but started his nation’s first game of the Euros tournament ahead of high-profile international teammates such as Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.
France manager Didier Deschamps recalled Kante to the squad this summer for the first time since June 2022. That’s one of the reasons why the midfielder’s performance last night was remarkable.
Chelsea fans react to N’Golo Kante’s display
A selection of Chelsea supporters on social media were shocked by just how good Kante was yesterday in France colours.
The all-action central midfielder totally bossed the game and it’s pretty obvious that he’s not slowed down since joining Al-Ittihad last summer.
Many Chelsea fans are convicted that the legendary midfielder would definitely still start at Stamford Bridge.
One fan said: “N’Golo Kante is still better than all our midfielders.”
Another claimed: “Kante can bench our whole Chelsea midfield still.”
One supporter wrote: “Kante would still be our best midfielder.”
Another posted: “Kante still walks into our midfield.”
One fan shared: “Present Kante is still much effective than all our (Chelsea) DMs.”
Another said: “There was real people out there that said Kante was finished and couldn’t wait for him to be sold… a half fit Kante walks into our team btw.”
Match stats
FotMob data provided the statistics from a powerful midfield performance by Kante.
- Match rating – 7.9
- Minutes played – 90
- Accurate passes – 46/53 (87%)
- Passes into final third – 4
- Chances created – 2
- Recoveries – 6
- Interceptions – 2
- Clearances – 1
- Tackles won – 2/3 (67%)
- Successful dribbles – 1/3 (33%)
From what Kante just produced on the international stage, he still looks like one of the very best midfielders in the business in 2024.
The Blues are happily in a new era when it’s up to midfielders such as Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to create their own legacies at Stamford Bridge.
But it’s a reminder of just how elite Kante was and apparently still is.