KANTE’S SPUR FOR REVENGE
Blues want final say
N’GOLO KANTE cannot wait to show Tottenham how far Chelsea have come since their defeat at White Hart Lane.
Kante’s winner against Manchester United booked the Blues a derby at Wembley next month in the FA Cup semi-finals. And that means a chance to get their revenge for the 2-0 defeat they suffered to Spurs in north London in January. That defeat denied Chelsea a Premier League record 14th win in a row, but they have not lost in 11 games since. Kante said: “I think when we lost, we had to think about why we lost. That’s what we do. “Tottenham was our last defeat. We had to keep going. We reacted very well after Tottenham. We have learned from our defeat. “I think Tottenham is a strong team. When you play there, they play very well, they scored twice and they deserved to win.” Kante can now go one better than last season ® when he won the title with Leicester by claiming a league and cup Double.
He said: “We have the chance to play for both competitions. In the league we are in a good position but there are still a lot of games and anything can happen.
“In the cup it is more difficult, because if you miss your chance, you go out. Difficult, but we are happy to play in the semi-finals. We have to win every game.
“We are going to fight for every competition, in the league and the cup.”
Ten points clear in the league with 11 games to go and two wins away from lifting the FA Cup, you wouldn’t bet against Kante and Co in their current form.
Similar
Kante has only scored twice all season, both goals coming against United, but he insists Antonio Conte has not told him to focus on that side of his game.
He said: “Not especially to score goals. But when I have the pass, to look forward, to try to make me improve.
“Also, we like to create chances and score. When we have the chances to score, we have to score.”
A tough-tackling midfielder himself in his playing days with Juventus and Italy, Conte admitted last week there are similarities between the pair in terms of how they play the game.
Kante said: “He didn’t especially tell me that, but we know he was a midfielder, we know his career, we can respect what he did.
“When he gives you advice, I have to understand and try to improve.”
France star Kante has an added reason to enjoy facing Spurs in the semis – because he has never played at Wembley.
He said: “Yeah, at Wembley, first time for me. I am going to discover this stadium, I’m happy. I’m looking forward to it. I hope we can have a good game there.”