N’Golo Kante produces a Man of the Match display against Real Madrid

N’Golo Kante was instrumental in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final to help give Chelsea a slim advantage with 1-1 draw away at Real Madrid.

Chelsea came away from Madrid with a slender advantage thanks to an away goal scored by Christian Pulisic in the 14th minute.

Karim Benzema levelled the score midway through the first half with an excellent volley to bring Los Blancos back into the match, however despite scoring, it was his French counterpart that took most of the plaudits on the night.

Kante once again proved why he is considered by many to be the best defensive midfielder in the world following a relentless defensive display against the European giants.

The midfielder played alongside Jorginho and was the crucial component in disrupting the iconic midfield trio of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.

Kante’s endless tank of energy helped the Blues to fluster the 13-time European champions in the opening 20 minutes of the match.

The 30-year-old doggedness was on full display as he contested 21 duels in just 90 minutes which was more duels than any other player in the match.

However, Kante also completed six take-ons in the 90 minutes, which was also more than any other player on the pitch in the first leg of the semi-final, proving that he has more to his game than just defending.

The moment that solidified this was when the Frenchman burst down the right flank, dribbling past Kroos with ease which led to the German cynically attempting to up-end Kante in order to prevent a dangerous attack.

Going into this season, fans had questioned whether the 30-year-old was past his prime after a series of injuries kept him sidelined for a significant chunk of the season.

However, Kante proved his doubters wrong and his athleticism and tireless running proved crucial to a Chelsea team that clearly looked fatigued in the second half of the fixture.

Real Madrid began to dominate proceedings in the second 45 minutes of the match as the energy levels of Thomas Tuchel’s unchanged side from the weekend began to flounder.

The Frenchman was one of the few players that were able to maintain the pressure on the Los Blancos players in the latter stages of the match, helping the Blues protect their narrow advantage of an away goal into the second leg next week.

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