It was after Chelsea's penultimate game of the 2021/22 Premier League season – a 1-1 draw with Leicester City at Stamford Bridge – that Thomas Tuchel was asked a somewhat innocuous question about the importance of N'Golo Kante in his side. The response from the German was a strong one.
"I think he is our key, key, key player, but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch," said Tuchel. "He plays only 40% of the games, so it is maybe a miracle that we arrive in third place. He is our Mo Salah, he is our Virgil ban Dijk, he is our Kevin De Bruyne. He is simply that player, our Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
"He is that guy who makes the difference, but if you only have him for 40% [of the games], then it is a huge problem. Given that percentage, it is maybe a miracle that we produce these results. It puts everything into perspective as I saw Liverpool without van Dijk last season, and they struggled heavily. You see the difference. N'Golo is our key player, and we need him on the pitch."
