Leicester City and West Ham United stars shone in France win over Albania and Joey Barton gives his verdict on the man of the match.
Burnley’s Joey Barton
Barton, who has sealed a move to Rangers from Burnley this summer, has been working as a pundit at Euro 2016.
And as a former Marseille player the controversial midfielder is something of an authority on French football.
The ex-Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers man played alongside West Ham United hero Dimitri Payet at the Stade Velodrome.
France’s N’Golo Kante in action
‘He’s a machine’
But despite another sparkling performance from Payet with his second goal in as many games, Barton made a case for an alternative man of the match in the late 2-0 win.
“How many (N’Golo) Kante’s were on the pitch tonight for France?” Barton tweeted.
“He was everywhere the fella #machine.”
France’s Dimitri Payet celebrates at the end of the match
The most sung about unsung hero?
While Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez took most of the plaudits for Leicester City in their fairytale Premier League title triumph, many feel Kante was the key cog which elevated the Foxes to another level.
The diminutive but powerful central midfield star has carried on his fine form into the European Championships for the hosts.
So too has his international midfield teammate Payet, who like Vardy and Mahrez at club level, has stolen all the headlines for Les Bleus so far.
Leicester’s N’Golo Kante
Foxes Kante stop speculation
But Barton is right to highlight Kante after a typical performance of endless running, tackling and counter attacking from sought after star.
He is being linked with big money moves to the likes of Juventus, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, as reported by the likes of the Metro.
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