N’Golo Kante and slicing through Leicester City

Throughout the first half at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, there was some sort of recognition that this Chelsea performance is a supreme showcase of talent. A mixture of science and magic. A footballing performance that is easy on the eye while still maintaining the structure.

Even Brendan Rodgers was in agreement after the match. “We were just beaten by a better side. A team that are playing at a really high level. Fit, strong, technically at the highest level. That’s why they are European winners.”

Chelsea’s problems when they were pressed in the build up phase last season have been slowly diminishing this campaign. The improvement in the quality of the long and short passes from the center backs, namely Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah, has played a major role in that. That’s in addition of course to how Thomas Tuchel and his staff are using the wing-backs offensively this season to offer more progressive passing options centrally.

Both features were a highlight in the annihilation of Leicester City, but there was as well another feature that helped Tuchel’s side slice through Leicester City. Mainly slicing through Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare.

From the first minute of the game, N’Golo Kante was keen to make runs into the space behind Ndidi and Soumare. Usually starting from a deeper position….

…..before running past the midfield duo….

…..to position himself in the space behind them.

Helping Kante was the movements of Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and the wing-backs. Their off-ball movements, dropping to provide passing options or combine centrally, provided Kante with space that he can run into, beyond Ndidi and Soumare. In this example, Chalobah chose the simple pass into Mount, but with Caglar Soyuncu moving out and Kante ahead of the Leicester midfield duo……

…..Chalobah could have played the pass into Kante. Especially that Timothy Castagne is pinned out wide by Reece James.

Kante’s positioning was smart. Always on the blindside of Ndidi and Soumare, before slowly moving towards the space behind them. Here, the inside positioning of Ben Chilwell and James also helped as they over-crowded the central area, allowing Kante to sneak in behind.

Jorginho then found the French midfielder with a pass in between Ndidi and Soumare….

…..but after penetrating the Leicester block, Kante’s pass into the space out wide for Kai Havertz was heavier than needed.

Kante’s role wasn’t restricted to these runs in behind Soumare and Ndidi. He commenced his usual role of supporting Jorginho in the build up….

….but when the opportunity presented itself with another player drifting centrally, he slowly moved away from Ndidi and Soumare….

….then attacked the space behind them once he received the ball.

Unfortunately for Kante, his through ball here that would have put Havertz on goal was intercepted by Daniel Amartey.

Another example here sees Kante making a run behind Ndidi and Soumare into a vacated space in Leicester’s defensive line. That space was created due to the disruption resulting from the movements of Mount and Hudson Odoi. Jorginho spots Kante and floats an excellent ball into the Frenchman’s path….

…..putting him through on goal with only Kasper Schmeichel between him and the net. Kante’s unfamiliarity with this position meant that his effort was saved by Schmeichel, denying Chelsea an opportunity to double their lead.

He did double the lead though later on. In the build up to the second goal, Kante was positioning himself behind Ndidi and Soumare, probably waiting for the ball to be played into Mount for then the English midfielder to find him. However, Soyuncu was tight on Mount, forcing Chelsea to reset their attack….

……when they did, Kante was still behind Leicester’s midfield duo — who were marking James and Jorginho — and moving towards the huge space in midfield. That meant that when Chalobah played the pass into James, and the right wing-back adjusted his body shape correctly to receive the ball on the run….

….Soumare was in no man’s land and with Castagne shifting his focus towards James, Kante was free in acres of space. James then played the ball into Kante…

….who surged forward with Ndidi and Soumare in his back mirrors before striking the ball with his left foot and into the back of the net to make it 2–0.

Kante’s role on Saturday isn’t something new for Chelsea, but the effectiveness in putting the Frenchman in constant dangerous positions only proves the team’s mastery in executing their attacking patterns.

This was arguably Chelsea’s best display in the league this season, even without their lead striker Romelu Lukaku and one of their best performers this season, Mateo Kovacic.

From defensive solidness and Tuchel’s in-game tweaks to evolving the wing backs and perfecting the attacking patterns, Chelsea are not a side to mess with.