The form of Blues defenders this season doesn’t match up to Rudiger’s levels at Stamford Bridge before he quit to move to Spanish giants
Research by Casinos En Ligne reveals:
- Chelsea concede 20 per cent more goals per game without him
- Blues are weaker in the air now Rudiger is not in team
- Kalidou Koulibaly loses almost half his headed duels
- Marc Cucurella has fewest recoveries per game
The true reason for Chelsea’s woeful Premier League form this season has been revealed – they have simply not replaced Antonio Rudiger in defence.
Rudiger quit Stamford Bridge last summer to join Real Madrid, and the German is now preparing to end Chelsea’s Champions League dreams for another year.
And analysis by Casinos En Ligne shows how much the influential defender has been missed, with the stars left in West London failing to deliver his performance levels in his final season with the club.
Over the course of this season, Chelsea have conceded 31 goals in 30 matches at a rate of 1.03 goals per game. In contrast, the Blues let in 27 in Rudiger’s 34 league appearances last season at a rate of 0.79 goals per game – 20 per cent better than current performances.
One of the major areas of weakness in the current Chelsea defence is in the air. Rudiger enjoyed a 73.68 per cent success rate in aerial duels last season. His replacement Kalidou Koulibaly only wins 54 per cent of his headed battles, just a fraction worse than Marc Cucurella.
Cucurella’s defensive qualities come in for further scrutiny in the amount of recoveries he has managed – rate of 0.5 recoveries per game compared to Rudiger’s 5.38.
Across the defence the records are alarming. Last season, Chelsea could expect a clean sheet every 2.42 matches Rudiger appeared in. But only when veteran Thiago Silva plays do this year’s Blues come anywhere close to such performance figures.
Chelsea PL record 21/22 (with Rudiger at club)
Played: 38
Goals Conceded: 33
Goals per Game: 0.86
Chelsea PL record 22/23 (without Rudiger)
Played: 30
Goals Conceded: 31
Goals per Game: 1.03
Chelsea defenders 22/23 compared to Rudiger 21/22
| Rudiger
(21-22) |
Koulibaly | Fofana | Cucurella | Silva | Chalobah | James | |
| Apps | 34 | 22 | 11 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 15 |
| Goals Conceded | 27 | 22 | 13 | 20 | 22 | 11 | 16 |
| Clean Sheets | 14 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Goals against per game | 0.79 | 1 | 1.18 | 0.83 | 1.04 | 0.64 | 1.06 |
| Games per clean sheet | 2.42 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6 | 3.5 | 4.25 | 7.5 |
Chelsea defenders aerial stats 22/23 compared to Rudiger 21/22
| Rudiger
(21-22) |
Koulibaly | Fofana | Cucurella | Silva | Chalobah | James | |
| Apps | 34 | 22 | 11 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 15 |
| Aerial won | 56 | 33 | 25 | 16 | 42 | 21 | 23 |
| Aerial lost | 20 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
| Aerial Success % | 73.68 | 54.09 | 62.5 | 55.17 | 68.85 | 55.2 | 58.92 |
Chelsea defenders individual stats 22/23 compared to Rudiger 21/22
| Rudiger | Koulibaly | Fofana | Cucurella | Silva | Chalobah | James | |
| Apps | 34 | 22 | 11 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 15 |
| Clearances per game | 2.55 | 3.22 | 2.18 | 1.54 | 1.76 | 2.17 | 1.33 |
| Blocked shots per game | 0.35 | 0.04 | 0 | 0.16 | 0.14 | 0.11 | 0.4 |
| Recoveries per game | 5.38 | 5.68 | 4.54 | 0.5 | 5.57 | 3.23 | 5.8 |
