Cole heaps praise on ‘exceptional’ Chelsea defender
Joe Cole singled out Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger for special praise after their 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
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Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League with their win over Newcastle on Saturday. An own goal from Federico Fernandez and a strike from Tammy Abraham earned them all three points.
This victory moves them to nine games unbeaten in all competitions. The Blues have also won three in a row in the top flight.
Early winners: Lampard and his Chelsea title contenders
With Thiago Silva coming in during the summer, Rudiger has fallen further down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. He was linked with a move away during the transfer window, though a move did not come to fruition.
Silva had a busy international break, as he played twice for Brazil. He was rested for this game, allowing Rudiger to come in for his first league appearance of the season.
The German defender was one of a few positive notes for Frank Lampard as they continued their positive start to the new season.
While speaking with BT Sport, as cited by The Metro, Cole picked out Rudiger for particular praise:
“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.”