Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been instructed by his head coach Maurizio Sarri to focus on defending despite scoring against Crystal Palace last Sunday.
The Frenchman’s goal secured all three points for the Blues in the London derby, while the attackers up front flattered to deceive for the most part of the game. Willian and Ross Barkley both hit the post in the first half as the Blues huffed and puffed but failed to score.
It looked like another miserable day for Chelsea fans was in the bag until Kante made an excellent run in behind the Palace defense to get to David Luiz’s long pass before hitting a low shot past the goalkeeper to put the Blues in front. The goal was his third this season in the English top flight, making it his best scoring season as per Sky Sports.
N’Golo Kante scores his 3rd @premierleague goal for @ChelseaFC this season – now his best scoring season in the PL
âš½ï¸âš½ï¸âš½ï¸ in 20 PL apps this season
âš½ï¸âš½ï¸âš½ï¸ in previous 106 PL apps prior to this season pic.twitter.com/XovghGeLtc— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 30, 2018
However, Sarri insists Kante’s primary job is to defend and must focus on that.
“He has to think about the defence first of all. Then he is improving, especially in movements without the ball. His movement today was really very good and was done with the right timing.
“When we have to play against opponents who are very low, it’s difficult for the striker and wingers to find space. So for us the midfielders’ movement without the ball is very important. Now we have to work on [Ruben] Loftus-Cheek and on [Ross] Barkley. Loftus-Cheek especially is a great player with the ball, but he can improve a lot in his movement without the ball.”
Maurizio Sarri, Goal
