Chelsea's French midfielder N'Golo Kante (L) is congratulated by Chelsea's French defender Kurt Zouma (R) after scoring their first goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London on September 22, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for N’Golo Kante and Kurt Zouma.
It comes off as assuring given the French pair haven’t exactly been regulars under Tuchel. Kante may have gotten some cameos off the bench but Zouma fell down the pecking order.
However, the pair started in the draw against Southampton and the manager had some warm words for them.
Speaking of the defender, the German tactician insisted that he was impressed by how solid Zouma was against the Saints.
“It is a process and I’ve learnt a lot of positives about Zouma. I was very happy with Kurt’s performance. We decided very late to put him on the pitch but he put in a very good game. I thought he was solid, he was a presence back there and he was very clear in his actions. He performed his role at a top level, which pleased me.”
On Kante, the manager expressed his pleasure to have gotten a chance to work with, having admired his talents for quite some time now.
“With N’Golo, I saw how well he’s been playing in training and of course I’ve known about him for many years. I’m very happy now that I am his coach and I have the chance to work with him every day.”
Tuchel added that he was in awe of how Kante could steal the ball from the opposition. He felt that other players need to take advantage of that and construct attacks from it faster and in a better way.
“I’ve learnt many things and as I said earlier, it is a process. I’m seeing more and more of my squad and where we can improve. But specifically on N’Golo and Kurt, I’m very happy with them.”
Chelsea were held to a draw by Southampton as Tuchel only dropped points for the second time after taking charge of the Blues. Next up is a Champions League round of 16 game against Atletico Madrid.
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