Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel singles out Kante, Zouma for praise

Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, has singled out N’Golo Kante and Kurt Zouma for praise ahead of his side’s Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night at National Arena in Romania.

Tuchel said he was very pleased with Kante and Zouma’s performances so far for the club.

The German handed Kante and Zouma their first Premier League starts under his tenure over the weekend in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Southampton.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Atletico Madrid, Tuchel was quoted by the Blues’ official website as saying: “It is a process and I have learnt a lot of positives about Zouma. I was very happy with Kurt’s performance.

“He performed his role at a top-level, which pleased me.”

“With N’Golo, I saw how well he’s been playing in training and of course, I have known about him for many years,” Tuchel added.

“I am very happy now that I am his coach and I have the chance to work with him every day.

“This guy, wow. He steals every ball that is around 10 metres. We need to use these balls better, when N’Golo steals and wins possession for us, we need to react quickly and use these to our advantage. We need to attack the space behind the last line better and we need to use our speed better to create more chances.

“I’ve learnt many things and as I said earlier, it is a process. I am seeing more and more of my squad and where we can improve. But specifically on N’Golo and Kurt, I’m very happy with them.”