It has not been the return from the international break that Chelsea would have hoped for. The Blues lost their latest Premier League tie 5-2 to the relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion. To make matters worse, there was a training ground bust-up at the Blues’ base that resulted in Antonio Rudiger being dismissed.
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was involved in a training ground bust-up with reserve goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga – The Athletic reports. The altercation happened the day after Chelsea’s shock loss to West Bromwich Albion. The Blues were beaten 5-2 on their own ground with Thiago Silva seeing a red card.
The report reveals that the confrontation came about following some heated remarks between the pair. Arrizabalaga – who was Chelsea’s record signing before this season – said some unsavoury things to Rudiger. The pair then collided while attempting to reach the same ball which in turn led to a physical row.
As a consequence of his actions on the training pitch, Rudiger was sent to the dressing room a few minutes early by the head coach Thomas Tuchel. However, the fight was resolved shortly afterwards, with the two players apologizing and hugging.
The Athletic report claims that tensions were high following Chelsea’s loss to West Brom. The dressing room was less than happy with the result, which saw them lose grip on the fourth Champions League spot. Tuchel hinted at the same in his post-match interview while also stating that constructive talks will follow once the atmosphere has calmed a little.
It was the moment after the game, to be honest, but also to be calm and to breathe and tell everybody to breathe. It will be a hard afternoon for everybody I think, a hard evening,
he said.
It is our first loss together. It is important to find a way to deal with it together, and that everyone knows what I feel like a part of it and so there were some quick words to calm everybody down and to delay the talks until tomorrow because now is too emotional, is too much frustration. It is not productive.
Rudiger has found himself back in the starting eleven under Tuchel. The senior centre-back has usually been deployed as the right-sided of the three by his compatriot. He has performed well since being recalled to the team – Chelsea’s stunning clean sheet record before the West Brom game a testament to that.
The German international was left out by his head coach for Chelsea’s latest match along with Player of the Month nominee Andreas Christensen. Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva started in place of the pair but endured a difficult day at the office.
Nevertheless, Chelsea have another important tie coming up. The Blues are set to travel to Seville to face FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The match is taking place at a neutral venue, and they are the chosen ‘away’ team for the first leg. The second leg will take place in the same stadium a week later.
Chelsea beat Atletico Madrid to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They made it past the round-of-16 for the first time in seven years. Porto, meanwhile, took down a much stronger opponent in Juventus. The Dragoes kept Cristiano Ronaldo and Co at bay and qualified for the next round despite losing the second leg.
The sides will now engage in a two-legged battle for a spot in the semi-finals. The winner of this match will face the winner of the tie between Liverpool and Real Madrid, who have been drawn against each other in a rematch of the 2018 UCL Final.
