Los Blancos wreaked havoc at Stamford Bridge, and he only managed 45 unproductive minutes.
Tuchel justified it as a "tactical change" in the second half, when he switched the formation to a back four. With Mason Mount ahead of him and ex-Madrid player Mateo Kovacic on the bench, the small Frenchman started with Jorginho in the middle of the park.
However, in his 45-minute run-out, he only had 21 touches and completed 15 of his 17 attempted passes. Kante attempted one off-target shot and made one crucial pass.
But against the 13-time winners, a man who has based a large part of his success on his tackling and gaining the ball back for his team, he fell short. Kante was defeated in his only duel and did not record a single tackle or interception.
In a dismal appearance for the European and world champion, he also lost control three times and handed up a free-kick. The ex-Leicester midfielder, who is out of contract next year, was a far cry from his man-of-the-match displays in Chelsea's semi-final and final victories over Real Madrid and Manchester City last season.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek completed 31 of 33 passes, won four of seven duels, and made two successful tackles, while Kovacic, who came on at halftime, completed 50 of his 55 passes.
There are only four touches. The influence of Romelu Lukaku was smaller than that of N'Golo Kante, with Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy completing the same number of passes.
Although an underhit Mendy ball to Antonio Rudiger just after halftime set up Karim Benzema's hat-trick goal, the defending Champions League champions now face a mountain to climb to reach the last four.
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