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Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has named a Chelsea player as the toughest ever opponent he has faced during his career. The German merited N'Golo Kante with the honor, saluting his counterpart for the amount of hard work on the pitch.
Gundogan, who joined Manchester City in 2016, has locked horns with Kante on several occasions across competitions. At the end of last season, Kante even produced a memorable display in the final of the Champions League to prevent Gundogan and City from winning the trophy.
As such, it comes as no surprise that Gundogan rates Kante so highly. Answering a fan question on Twitter about the hardest opponent he faced in midfield, Gundogan tweeted:
"I would say N'Golo Kante. He’s really strong, the amount of work that he puts into the game, it’s just unbelievable..."
Kante has been an excellent addition to the Premier League ever since he burst onto the scene at Leicester City. The Frenchman proved a vital cog in the Foxes' historic Premier League triumph under Claudio Ranieri during the 2015-16 season.
Following the achievement, Kante was quickly snapped up by Chelsea, where he has added several other honors, including the Champions League and Europa League, to his trophy cabinet.
More recently, Kante has endured a bit of a struggle with injuries. Notably, the 30-year-old has clocked just 762 minutes of playing time in the Premier League this term.
Chelsea and Manchester City set for crucial Premier League showdown
The Premier League returns on Saturday with a mouth-watering clash between leaders Manchester City and second-placed Chelsea. Although the Blues are in second place, they are still 10 points adrift of the reigning champions.
Should Thomas Tuchel and company fail to beat Manchester City, they could slip to third-place behind Liverpool, if the Reds win their game against Brentford. Understandably, nothing short of a win would help Chelsea if they are to stay in the title race.
During the reverse fixture between the sides back in September, Pep Guardiola and his men secured a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Gabriel Jesus scored the only goal of the game as the hosts suffered their first loss of the 2021-22 campaign.
It remains to be seen if the west London club can stun Manchester City away from home in Saturday's early kick-off.
