N'Golo Kante was untouchable during Chelsea's Champions League triumph on Saturday.In hindsight, everyone should have seen Kante's masterclass coming a mile off because he also helped himself to Man of the Match awards during the Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid wins.But there's good reason to think that Kante outdid himself with a performance at the Estádio do Dragão that will be talked amongst the finest to ever appear in Champions League finals.
Kante's Champions League final masterclass
With Pep Guardiola flooding the central areas with attacking midfield talent, it was absolutely imperative that Chelsea stood firm against their creative and forward-thinking onslaught.
As such, it's a testimony to Kante's brilliance - helped in no small part by the fantastic Jorginho by his side - that City laboured and limped in their attempts to even muster a clearcut chance in Porto.
And one of the most accomplished midfield wizards that Kante lined up against was none other than Kevin de Bruyne who is, by all accounts, amongst the very best footballers in the world.
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De Bruyne vs Kante
The Belgian maestro was superb along City's journey to the Champions League final and rightfully takes his place amongst the Premier League Team of the Season of many fans and pundits.
However, even before he was forced off injury with a nose bone fracture and left orbital fracture, the 29-year-old was made to look distinctly ordinary against the might of Kante.
Ok, that makes it sound a little bit like movie trailer narration, but the moral of the story is that Kante played a major role in ensuring that City's creator in chief couldn't get into his flow during the final.
De Bruyne failing the Kante test
And it's an outlook corroborated by the footage with a remarkable amount of Kante and De Bruyne's interactions ending up with the latter on the floor despite only being on the pitch for 60 minutes.
Don't believe us? Well, Twitter user @CFCPys has illustrated the point perfectly by stitching together three clips that show de Bruyne is the latest world-class player to fail the Kante test.
To see De Bruyne hitting the turf twice over and then being subject to one of the best tackles we've seen all season, be sure to check out the footage down below:
Don't worry, Kevin, you're not the first top-level player to get mugged off by Kante and you certainly won't be the last.
Kante dominating midfield
And even in a world where City's star man was able to continue beyond the hour mark, it's hard to imagine the tide turning to such an extent that the Citizens would have taken the win in Portugal.
Sure, City are probably the better team when it comes to spanning entire seasons, but it's never been clearer that Chelsea hold the upper hand in one-off games, particularly in the midfield.
It goes to show that you can have all the midfield talent in the world, dancing in front of the penalty area with skills and passes galore, but it's all irrelevant if you're facing The Great Wall of Kante.