Joe Cole praises ‘exceptional’ Chelsea FC star after win at Newcastle
Joe Cole praises Antonio Rudiger following his performance for Chelsea FC against Newcastle United
Joe Cole singled out Antonio Rudiger for special praise following his “exceptional” performance for Chelsea FC against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The German defender was heavily linked with a move away from Chelsea FC in the summer transfer window and he had not featured for the Blues in the Premier League before Saturday’s clash.
Rudiger was drafted in to Frank Lampard’s starting line-up in the heart of defence alongside Kurt Zouma, and he produced a solid performance to help the Blues keep a clean sheet at St James’ Park.
An own goal from Federico Fernandez handed Chelsea FC the lead, before Tammy Abraham made the points secure for the Blues in the 65th minute against the Magpies.
Cole was highly impressed with what he saw from Rudiger in what was his first Premier League appearance of the season for the west London side.
Speaking to BT Sport after Saturday’s game, as quoted by Metro, Cole said: “It’s the nature of the beast when you’re at a club like Chelsea or any of the big boys, you know every summer they are bringing in players to strengthen.
“They’re not bringing in players to come and sit on the bench, they are bringing in players to make an impact on the pitch.
“Rudiger is a difficult one because he’s been captain and he’s a senior player but you have to give credit where credit is due.
“It’s a difficult day for him. He’s come in and pitched it right. It looked like the biggest credit I could pay him is that Thiago Silva wasn’t even missed one bit.
“He just came in did his job and it was an exceptional performance.”
Chelsea FC will return to Champions League action on Tuesday night when they travel to face French side Rennes.
The west London side will then prepare for their crunch Premier League showdown against London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
