da betsson： Chelsea were mightily unlucky to have dropped their first points of the new season as they were held to a 2-2 draw with Swansea in an incident full match at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
da realsbet： Chelsea opened the scoring mid-way through a very one-sided half thanks to a fine finish from Diego Costa, who capitalised on some poor Swansea defending.
A Gylfi Sigurdson penalty and controversial Leroy Fer goal – in which he fouled Gary Cahill in the build-up – in quick succession gave the home side a shock 2-1 lead.
The glory was shared, however, when in-form Costa struck again with an acrobatic effort just past the 80-minute mark.
The post-game discussion was all about Swansea’s second goal however as Andre Mariner and dos officials missed Dutchman Fer’s foul on Gary Cahill which led to him being through on goal one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois whom he fumbled the ball just past.
The result cost Chelsea a well deserved three points and prevented Antonio Conte from becoming only the fourth manger in Blue’s history to win all four of his opening league fixtures.
Regardless of the result, however, there were many of positive signs. The form of Diego Costa, the energy going forward and the improved defensive stability are all plusses, however, one man who has had the biggest impact thus far is summer signing N’golo Kante.
The Frenchman has already shown why Chelsea splurged over £30 million on his signature this summer, and we think the midfield dynamo has the potential to be the difference at the end of the season when it comes to who lifts the Premier League trophy.
Here are our five reason’s why N’Golo Kante could win Chelsea the Premier League…
Missing Link
More often than not, especially last season, the gap between Chelsea’s defence and their midfield was far too big. Having N’Golo Kante in the side bridges that gap, and allows the team to move more effectively as a unit rather than there being a divide between attack and defence. Now, they go up
We Have The Ball
How can the opposition damage Chelsea when they don’t have the ball for any extended periods of time? The master at winning the ball back in midfield – without making any fouls either it must be said – Kante ensures that if a ball is lost he is the man to win it back as soon as he can. The pressure he exerts on opposition midfielders makes it extremely difficult to operate in their normal fashion.
Protecting the Back Four
Chelsea’s back four last season had little to no protection due to the poor form of Nemanja Matic, which was part of the reason the Blue’s struggled so much defensively throughout the campaign. This year with Kante and an improving Matic in front of them, there is much less pressure on the defence and having that extra body in front of them makes organising for Gary Cahill/John Terry easier.
Attacking Threat(ish)
Not only does N’golo Kante offer protection to the back four, he also – in a roundabout way – offers plenty going forward too. Kante will near enough always play the ball simple.
No long balls, extravagant passes or taking on his man in silly positions. Simple is enough. And those simple balls allow Chelsea to break quickly and effectively, leaving all the ‘difficult’ stuff so to say to the front four. Most attacks begin through the Frenchman, which is a credit to his genius.
No-one else has him!
As stupid as this may sound, there was a reason N’Golo Kante was the Premier League’s most wanted man this summer, with Arsenal, Manchester United and others also interested in signing the Frenchman.
The role in which he excels is common, but one he does in such a unique way he is indispensable to any side. If the former Leicester man had joined United, Arsenal, City or even Tottenham, it would be advantage them in the title race.