Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United
CHE: Hazard 47’; Costa 89’
WHU: Collins 77’
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
It took the Premier League's foremost ball-winner just 44 seconds to regain possession as a Chelsea player for the first time.
A sloppy touch from Andy Carroll was the only invitation N'Golo Kante required. As supporters of Leicester City will attest, it does not take long for the France international to seize his chance when the ball is loose, and Kante duly nipped in after the West Ham United striker had let it slip from his grasp.
The Chelsea squad has not undergone major surgery this summer, despite their 10th-place finish last time out and the installation of Antonio Conte in the dugout. Kante was the only new arrival to begin Monday’s 2-1 victory over West Ham, with Michy Batshuayi, the club’s other close-season signing, having to wait until the 85th minute for his debut.
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Kante was employed at the base of a midfield three at Stamford Bridge, with Nemanja Matic and Oscar on either side and Cesc Fabregas left on the substitutes’ bench. If that decision was questioned by some prior to kick-off, it became more comprehensible in the opening stages: The match began at a frantic pace, and Conte was probably concerned about the inventive but slow Fabregas being overrun.
Kante actually looked a little nervous in the opening stages. He was booked in the third minute after fouling Carroll from behind just inside his own half, before a couple of untidy first touches gifted West Ham possession in promising areas.
The 25-year-old soon grew into the game as Chelsea began to take control, though, with the hosts creating the better chances in the first half despite some tidy football from West Ham early on. The lead did not arrive until after the interval, when the terrific Eden Hazard converted from the penalty spot following Michail Antonio’s foul on Cesar Azpilicueta, but there was no doubt that Chelsea were the better team for the vast majority of this encounter.
Hazard may have been the star of the show but Kante, much like last term, did a great deal of the unfashionable yet essential dirty work. There were a few demonstrations of his drive and dynamism in occasional bursts forward but his role was primarily a disciplined one, particularly when Chelsea sought to protect their advantage in the second period.
A clean sheet was ultimately beyond them, James Collins equalising in the 77th minute when a set-piece was not properly cleared, but Kante still succeeded in his task of dominating the centre of the park as Chelsea went on to seal all three points through Diego Costa late on.
His distribution was tidy, too, the former Leicester man at times dropping between Gary Cahill and John Terry and allowing Branislav Ivanovic and Azpilicueta to push on as Chelsea built the play. It was something he rarely did at Leicester, whose full-backs Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs were more conservative as the team focused on getting the ball from back to front quickly, and it will be interesting to see whether he contributes more in possession this year.
Chelsea also sought to move the ball through the pitch quickly on Monday, with Conte encouraging early switches of play throughout, and many of their attacks came down the flanks rather than through the centre. Fabregas’ creativity means he will still be relied upon against opponents who sit deep and pack men behind the ball, but his manager certainly seems to have a preference for more physical and energetic midfielders.
Kante is exactly that, a player who has established himself as one of Europe’s best in his position in such a short space of time. His signing could make all the difference for Chelsea this term.
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