Completely played off the park, Chelsea were humiliated by London rivals Tottenham in their 3-1 Premier League defeat at Wembley on Saturday.
Since then, there has been a lot of talk about the midfield roles of N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, who was nullified superbly by Dele Alli throughout the 90 minutes.
Some feel that Kante should be used in front of the Blues’ unconvincing defence in order to give them some much-needed protection, while others are certain that Jorginho must play there if Sarri-ball is to be a success at Stamford Bridge.
Whatever the case, Chelsea clearly have two high-calibre midfielders on their hands, regardless of if they are being mishandled or not.
N’Golo Kante
Kante has been one of the best midfielders in world football since arriving at Leicester City back in 2015.
He is a tackling and interception-making machine who has played massive roles in two Premier League titles wins at different clubs and a World Cup triumph with France.
For all of the credit he gets for the work he does when his side are without possession, Kante has also shown glimpses of his technical quality under previous Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who constantly encouraged him to make more forward-thinking passes.
He does possess the ability to go on a bursting run or play a dangerous pass, something that he needs to show more often now that he is playing in a more advanced role.
And while he is still adapting to that more advanced role, his struggle within the new role should not alter how highly he has been thought of in the last three years.
TT Grade: A+
Jorginho
After sweeping the plaudits during the early stages of his career in west London, Jorinho was exposed and exploited against both Tottenham and Everton.
That, however, does not undo all of the good work the Brazilian-born Italy international has done at Stamford Bridge since arriving from Napoli over the summer.
The fact that Chelsea looked so poor in midfield in their encounters with Tottenham and Everton, in both of which Jorginho was neutralised, goes to show how influential he is to Maurizio Sarri’s side.
The 26-year-old is at the heart of practically every good move as he opens himself up to collect the ball from a central defender or full-back before playing it into one of the offensive players such as Eden Hazard.
Defensively, there is much room for improvement with the former Napoli man’s last outing at Wembley showing exactly why some are calling for Kante to be given the nod for the position at the base at Chelsea’s midfield.
But all in all, Jorginho has been a superb addition to the west London club whose midfield last season was a very lacklustre one.
TT Grade: A
TT Verdict:
This season, it is hard to argue against Jorginho being the more influential midfielder at Chelsea compared to Kante.
He has become the heartbeat of Sarri’s team, whereas Kante’s impact on games is starting to diminish when you look at what he was doing in his first two campaigns at Stamford Bridge.
In a side that looks so defensively frail, though, this Chelsea would get nowhere without a player like Kante in the starting XI who is still stopping counter-attacks and making last ditch tackles — just perhaps not as frequently as last term.
Considering that, the World Cup-winning Frenchman edges this battle between Chelsea midfielders.
Chelsea fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
