Antonio Rudiger is no stranger to putting himself in difficult and painful situations for the cause, as evidenced by the defensive lynchpin of Thomas Tuchel s Chelsea revival sporting a protective face mask during matches over recent weeks.
Nevertheless, even as a player who appears to relish a challenge and refuse to back down from a confrontation, Chelsea playing behind closed doors might have done Rudiger a favour earlier in the year.
The Stamford Bridge faithful, for all the success lapped up during the Roman Abramovich era, are certainly not shy when it comes to voicing their displeasure over an unpopular change in the dugout, of which there have been plenty.
There was the vocal backing for Roberto Di Matteo weeks after his sacking in 2012. Interim boss Rafael Benitez was the villain in that situation but calling out any perceived culprits among a squad often noted for wielding player power has also marked times of tumult.
When Jose Mourinho s second spell at Chelsea ended with the then-reigning Premier League champions lurching close to the relegation zone in December 2015, he was backed by plenty of fans amid accusations of player betrayal. One banner in the ground famously branded Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa to be The 3 Rats .
Had stadiums been full around the time of Frank Lampard s January demise, it is possible Rudiger would have faced similar scrutiny.
There have been so many nonsense rumours around about me since last week, he told The Athletic in February, following speculation that urged the Chelsea board to dispense with Lampard. I ve never talked with the board about the situation of the coach or on any other topics.
In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Rudiger explained he suffered immense racist abuse online after Lampard s sacking, both an indication of the levels of toxicity at play and a deplorable sign of our times.
It certainly did not feel plausible that, in the space of four months, Rudiger would be arguably the form defender in European football and leading Chelsea s charge under Tuchel for a pair of major honours, starting in Saturday s FA Cup final against Leicester.
WE DID IT Off to the final!!!
— Antonio Rüdiger (@ToniRuediger)
Indeed, the most remarkable element of Rudiger being singled out as a man responsible for so many of the ills at Chelsea around the fall of Lampard was how little he had been involved in the first team.
He started two of their first 17 Premier League fixtures before being recalled in the wake of a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City to start back-to-back games against Fulham and Leicester – the latter of which was a 2-0 defeat that effectively sealed Lampard s fate.
Overall, Rudiger made nine appearances in all competitions under the former England midfielder this season, with eight of those starts. His 742 minutes on the pitch were dwarfed by first-choice duo Kurt Zouma (1,999) and Thiago Silva (1,552).
Tuchel s decision to switch Chelsea into a 3-4-2-1 shape obviously did Rudiger and his fellow centre-backs a favour in the most basic terms of one more slot in the team being available, but the Germany international has repaid his countryman s faith emphatically.
In 21 appearances since, he has been involved in a remarkable 14 clean sheets. No defender in the Premier League, or elsewhere in Europe s top five leagues for that matter, can boast more in this time.
The six goals conceded with him on the field is also the lowest across the continent s elite divisions for any defender to have started 15 or more games from January 27 onwards, which was the date of Tuchel s first game in charge – a 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Rudiger rested up for Wembley in midweek when Chelsea went down to a lacklustre 1-0 home loss to Arsenal. He was an unused substitute for the only other league defeat of Tuchel s tenure, an unhinged 5-2 collapse versus West Brom after Silva was sent off.
In the 19 Premier League games Rudiger has not started in 2020-21, Chelsea have conceded 26 goals at a rate of 1.4 per game. With the ex-Roma man in the first XI, this plummets to seven in 17 (0.4 per game).
0.4 Chelsea have conceded 26 goals in 19 Premier League games when Antonio Rüdiger hasn’t started this season (1.4 per game), compared to just seven conceded in the 17 games when the German has started (0.4 per game). Loss.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Those seven goals have arrived over the course of 1,530 minutes on the field, meaning Rudiger has seen a goal conceded every 218.6 minutes. This is the best ratio in the Premier League for any defender to have played 1,000 minutes or more this term, with Manchester City pairing John Stones (194.9) and Ruben Dias (148.1) next on the list – suggesting the Champions League final in two weeks time could be something of a cagey affair.
When set alongside his Chelsea central defensive colleagues Zouma, Silva and Andreas Christensen, Rudiger s imposing qualities are evident. He has made 29 tackles in the Premier League this season, an average of 1.7 per 90 minutes, with no other member of the quartet averaging above one.
His 7.1 duels per 90 is bettered by Zouma (7.6), although both have the same return when it comes to duels won (4.8).
Of course, Rudiger has starred within a collective recalibration. In the Premier League, Tuchel s Chelsea have faced an average of 7.8 shots per game at an expected goals (xG) value of 0.6, down from 10.1 and 1 under Lampard.
Adjustments beyond the defence have also made the Blues harder to play against. They control matches far more effectively, with an average of 663.6 passes per game up from 612.7 at a slightly better accuracy (87.7 per cent from 86.3).
Chelsea are also pressing opponents more effectively, allowing an average of 10.1 passes per defensive action (PPDA) under Tuchel, behind only FA Cup final foes Leicester and Leeds United across the period in question. This season with Lampard in charge, they averaged 11 PPDA, which was fourth among all Premier League teams.
The improvements have made life a little easier for defenders, but when Chelsea step out at Wembley there will be no mystery over the identity of their standout performer at centre-back – even if he is wearing a mask. Rudiger has lifted himself off the scrapheap to become Tuchel s talisman.
