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Former Premier League striker Darren Bent has singled out Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante for his poor display against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
The Blues did well to respond to their 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge in the first leg and completely dominated Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Thomas Tuchel's side established a 3-0 lead at one point in the second leg. However, Real Madrid mounted a late comeback to secure their place in the semi-finals.
Rodrygo's 80th-minute strike and Karim Benzema scoring another in extra time meant Carlo Ancelotti's side won 4-3 on aggregate.
Darren Bent has claimed that the Blues were 'undone by three moments of magic' from Real Madrid and each Chelsea player 'stepped up' barring Kante. The 38-year-old has admitted that he was disappointed with the Frenchman, who 'kept giving the ball away'. Bent told talkSPORT:
“You could say Chelsea were undone by three moments of magic. Chelsea were superb. To go to the Bernabeu and dominate possession as they did, play as well as they did. Every single one of their players stepped up."
"Probably the only one I was a little bit disappointed with was Kante. He kept giving the ball away. We are not used to seeing Kante perform in this manner. So that was probably the one I was a little disappointed with.”
The former England striker has stated that Kante has struggled throughout the season, which is unlike the 31-year-old. He has also claimed that 'it will be interesting to see' what the Blues do this summer following Kante's dip in form. Bent added:
“He doesn’t seem to be the player he’s been in previous seasons. This season I think he’s struggled in possession. He’s given the ball away. I think in the first leg he was taken off at half-time. That doesn’t happen to N’Golo Kante. As we saw last season when they won it, he steps up in these types of games. He didn’t do it. It will be interesting to see what they (Chelsea) do in the summer.”
Chelsea should be proud of themselves despite losing to Real Madrid on aggregate
The West London club have been going through turbulent times in recent weeks, with their owner Roman Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK Government.
It is quite admirable that Thomas Tuchel has still managed to keep the morale of his squad intact.
Losing 3-1 to Real Madrid at home was a huge setback for the Blues. However, they showed a fighting spirit to take the game to the Spanish side in their own backyard.
The Blues certainly have a special manager in Tuchel as well as players with a strong mentality. Every single Chelsea fan should be proud of how Tuchel and his men are performing during an uncertain time for the club.
