“Clear to me”- Real Madrid star gives verdict on Chelsea’s recent struggles

Antonio Rudiger claims Chelsea have changed massively since he left the club

Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger asserted that the Blues have undergone significant change since he left the team and predicted a challenging matchup between Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Chelsea will play Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night as the Blues will hope to remain in the competition.

Following the departure of Rudiger, there have been significant changes at the club, which saw Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter being fired, and now Frank Lampard has been appointed as interim manager.

After sanctions were imposed on Roman Abramovich, the German international departed the team and joined Real Madrid during the previous summer transfer window for free.

He made 203 appearances for Chelsea and was a standout defender for the team that won the Champions League in 2020–21 under Tuchel’s leadership.

Meanwhile, under Carlo Ancelotti, the 30-year-old has developed into a competent defender and will be facing his former club in the last eight of the Champions League. And prior to Wednesday’s match against Chelsea, he said the following in an interview with Spanish outlet Marca:

“The Chelsea team I played for is nothing like the current Chelsea team. But what is clear to me is that the match will be tough; they have plenty of quality players.”

Of course, a lot has occurred since his departure, including the arrival of the new owners and the signing of a large number of players who are establishing themselves with the team. The departure of Rudiger, who went for free and left a hole in Chelsea’s defence, has stung the most, though.

Yet, once the 30-year-old left the team, it was difficult to find a successor because he signed players like Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, who are currently steadily establishing themselves as the team’s future defenders. Currently, injuries, inexperience and lack of consistency from our current batch of centre-backs have cost us over the season. The experienced lot including Kalidou Koulibaly haven’t fared very well either.

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It is true that the club has talent, but it will take a bit of time for them to gel on the pitch. Rudiger was one of our most important players in recent years but now that he is at Real Madrid, wearing rival colours, we can’t give him the impression that it was his departure alone that caused the downfall. That is what he could have been implying with his comments.

A mixture of poor decisions from Todd Boehly in the managerial sphere and tactical naivety on the pitch from Potter coupled with an influx of young players could have all played a role in robbing this team of an identity.