Antonio Rudiger has called on his Chelsea team-mates to make amends for their shock loss against Burnley by bouncing back against title rivals Tottenham next weekend.
Antonio Rudiger
Antonio Conte’s side began the defence of their Premier League crown with an embarrassing 3-2 defeat against Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea never recovered from the 14th-minute dismissal of captain Gary Cahill, while Cesc Fabregas was sent off later for a second bookable offence as the champions finished with nine men.
After trailing 3-0 at half-time, goals from Alvaro Morata and David Luiz gave the scoreline a flattering look for lacklustre Chelsea.
And Germany defender Rudiger, who was making his Premier League debut following his close-season move from Roma, conceded his team’s response to Cahill’s sending off was not good enough.
“If you have a red card early in the game it’s a shock moment for everyone but we are all professionals and we need to do better in those kind of situations,” Rudiger told Chelsea’s website.
“We conceded three goals too easily. We tried our best but at the end of the day football is about results and we lost.”
Despite his criticism, Rudiger believes Chelsea’s attempt to salvage a point against the odds should give them encouragement that the defeat is only a temporary blip.
After beating Tottenham to the Premier League title last season, the Blues can expect a fired up performance from their London rivals in their temporary Wembley home next Sunday.
But Rudiger say the derby provides Chelsea will an ideal opportunity to erase the bitter taste of the Burnley loss.
“In the second half we deserve compliments because you saw a team who tried when it wasn’t easy and at the end of the match we had two men less,” he said.
“We have to take the positives from the game, like the second half, work hard during the week and play a good match against Tottenham.”
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