Jamie Carragher believes Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante shocked the Liverpool players during the Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.
While Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Liverpool in their first game since Graham Potter’s sacking, the return of Kante was one of the big positives for the Blues.
Kante has missed most of the season through injury but offered a reminder of his quality against Liverpool on his first start since August.
‘It was almost as if some of the Liverpool players forgot who N’Golo Kante was and how good he is,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘You don’t try and take him on or better him physically. You just need to stay away from him really. Two or three times Liverpool players tried to take him on.
‘He’s been out for so long that some of the Liverpool players seemed to forget what N’Golo Kante is all about.’
Despite Kante’s impressive performance, Chelsea failed to score for a second home game in a row, with Kai Havertz, Joao Felix and Mateo Kovacic all missing big chances.
Havertz and Reece James both had the ball in the back of the net but the goals were disallowed for handball and offside respectively.
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Karen Carney also singled out Kante for praise after the west London stalemate, describing his performance as ‘brilliant’.
‘I thought he was brilliant,’ she said. ‘He just offers that stability in midfield and a bit more confidence.
‘I thought Enzo [Fernandez] played well with him, that was quite a nice dynamic. It’s timely for Chelsea because they will need him against Real Madrid. It was a really, really positive return.’
Chelsea faced Liverpool almost exactly 48 hours after Potter was sacked after less than seven months in charge of the Blues.
Caretaker manager Bruno Saltor said: ‘I have asked the players to play with their hearts and I think we saw that on the pitch. We create chances and I think we deserved to win.’
Discussing his feelings following Potter’s departure, the ex-Brighton defender added: ‘These have been emotional days and the players have been able to keep focused. It’s a credit to them.
‘You need to score to win, football is that simple. But what we need to do is keep helping the players. We need to keep helping them and guiding them. It’s outstanding.’
Chelsea, who remain 11th in the Premier League, return to action on Saturday against Wolves.
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