Kante, Luiz pleased with Chelsea win

N’Golo Kante (right) and David Luiz

Both N’Golo Kante and David Luiz were satisfied with Chelsea’s hard-fought 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Despite dominating possession of the ball early on, Chelsea were made to wait until the second half to break the deadlock through a rare Kante goal.

The French midfielder controlled Luiz’s lofted pass into the area perfectly and fired it past Palace goalkeeper Vincente Guaita to seal a 1-0 win for the Blues at Selhurst Park.

“It’s never easy to play here and to control the game, especially when they start to play long balls, trying to play for fouls and corners, but we did well,” Luiz told the club website.

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“We could score earlier but they also had a great match defensively, that’s why it was so difficult.”

Kante added: “Crystal Palace had a great game defensively, but we kept the pressure on, kept the ball and were happy to score in the second half.

“It was very difficult at the end of the game but we were able to fight and get the win.”

The 27-year-old scored his third goal of the season, which is more than he’s managed in his past two campaigns at Chelsea, in his new advanced midfield role.

“[This role] is something I am enjoying and in a game I try to make that run sometimes,” Kante explained.

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“Today, David gave me a good ball and I am happy to score with my left foot and give something to the team.”

Luiz added: “It’s the connection, training together every day, understanding the philosophy and trying to improve.

“I just tried to put the ball with the timing for N’Golo to arrive and try to score, that’s it.”

Maurizio Sarri’s side will take on Southampton on Wednesday night in their next Premier League game