In what has been a strange and difficult start to the season, there have been some bright spots for Chelsea. Undoubtedly the red cards and suspensions to Gary Cahill and David Luiz threw the team out in the early stages, but it gave both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen the chance to get more minutes than they would have expected at this stage.
The latter has been widely praised, but this weekend it was Rudiger who came into the side to play on the right of the three as Azpi moved to wing back.
Once against Rudiger put in a top performance, and as well as his defensive abilities it was his willingness to get on the ball that really stood out. The German had the second most touches in the team at 74, significantly more than his opposite number Gary Cahill (50) had on his side of the three.
This translated into more passing, and Rudiger was also second in the team in passes made.
He keeps it simple, but he’s been very effective, and Chelsea fans can be very confident in his ability to step into the team whenever needed now.
