Thomas Tuchel admitted that he did not know whether N'Golo Kante's form has been impacted by the number of matches the Chelsea midfielder has played over the last few seasons. The Frenchman's form has been questioned after a disruptive season.
Kante was substituted at half-time in the Blues' defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League, being replaced by Mateo Kovacic for tactical reasons. The performance was unfamiliar for the midfielder, who struggled to make his influence felt and recorded just 21 touches against Carlo Ancelotti's side, while the Blues struggled to disrupt Los Blanco's counter-attacks.
The former Leicester ace produced an impressive rate of man of the match awards in the competition in the last 12 months but has seen this term disrupted by injury and illness, leading him to miss 16 matches. Tuchel noted that Ramadan may have exacerbated Kante's form since the return from the international break but refused to suggest it was the only reason, given Kante's experience of observing the religious tradition.
