N’Golo Kanté sees positives in Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool

Facing the defending Premier League champions, Liverpool in just the second match of the new season sounds like a recipe for disaster. And sure enough, Chelsea made more than enough errors to lose 2-0.

That said, while we had all eleven players on the pitch, before Andreas Christensen got his marching orders on the stroke of half-time, We were able to contain most of the Reds’ threats. Last season’s 33-point gap wasn’t exactly on evidence, even if Liverpool dominated possession.

Reducing that gap remains priority number one of course, though most of our summer reinforcements to help us do that are still not fit to play. Until then, we have to take the small positives, which is what midfielder N’Golo Kanté was doing in a rare post-match interview yesterday.

“In the first half we were able to keep possession, have some situations, make them run and give them difficulty. So there were positives to take from the game.

“We worked really well in the first half and had some situations where we could have done better with the last choice. In the second half, 10 men, they scored early and it was more difficult. They have the ability to keep the ball and make us run. We did what we could, but it’s logical in the end Liverpool won.”

Kanté would have undoubtedly preferred winning, but we have to wait a bit longer for that to happen consistently. Right now, we’re all just figuring things out still.

“The result was a bit disappointing. We were focused on doing our best with 10 men.

“We have used every training session and every game to make each other better and to work together. We are getting better and we need to keep going in this way.”

While the defeat has put a damper on the mood, keeping a positive outlook will be critical in making that the response to this defeat is a win.

“The thing is to stay together and do well for the next game and the season.”

-N’Golo Kanté; source: Chelsea FC

And remember: be patient!

“It’s a new beginning for us. The season is long and we must keep fighting hard.”

-Mateo Kovačić; source: Chelsea FC