Thomas
Tuchel says it's a "miracle" Chelsea have secured a third-placed Premier
League finish despite being without "key, key, key" player N'Golo Kante for
so much of the season.
Kante returned to Tuchel's starting line-up for Chelsea's 1-1 draw with
Leicester on Thursday night having missed the previous four games with the
latest in a series of injury problems.
The Frenchman is facing an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge with his
contract due to expire next summer but Tuchel likened him to Virgil van
Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne in terms of his importance to the
side in his post-match press conference.
"I think he is our key, key, key player," he said. "But 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 Salah, he is our Van Dijk, he is our De Bruyne, he is our
Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe.
"He is simply that player, the guy 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 and 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."
Kante has suffered various injury issues this season, including groin and
knee problems, and asked if he feels Chelsea can find a solution, Tuchel
said: "I hope so. It's hard to live with because it's important for him to
be there and have the rhythm.
"I think he played OK tonight but he can play so much better. But when was
his last game that he started? It was weeks ago.
"He constantly starts getting rhythm, and once he has rhythm, comes a little
injury and he's out again."
Tuchel referenced his role in Chelsea's Champions League triumph last
season, saying: "Last year, in the Champions League, they handed him the
trophy before the match.
"It was clear he would be 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 that is unique in world football and he has
that ability to lift everybody up and make the difference.
"He is one of the very best midfielders in the world."
top