It was a season of two halves for Rudiger, as the German found himself falling down the pecking order of centre-backs for long periods at the start of the campaign, before returning to favour in time to play a key role as we secured a top-four finish and triumphed in the Champions League.

Despite that low-key start, by the end of 2020/21 he had contributed plenty to our success. In addition to the feeling of security he provided on and off the ball in our back line, Rudiger’s determination to win and fighting spirit helped him be one of the squad's leaders.

That passion and commitment were never more evident than when he helped us subdue Manchester City’s attack in the Champions League final, never flinching despite being forced to play out the end of the season wearing a protective mask by an injury.

Staying patient

With the arrival of Thiago Silva over the summer and the form of Kurt Zouma beside him in their centre-back partnership, chances in the line-up were restricted for Rudiger during the opening months of the campaign.

At the end of 2020, he had made just two Premier League appearances this season, filling in while Thiago Silva was rested for the victory at Newcastle United and home draw with Aston Villa. However, he featured more often in the Champions League, appearing in four of our six matches as we comfortably qualified top of Group E.

Defensive warrior

Almost overnight, Rudiger’s situation went from bit-part player to near ever-present, first being recalled by Frank Lampard in an attempt to halt our slide and then starting all but four league games under Thomas Tuchel.

Alongside Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta, he formed what was largely Tuchel’s preferred back-three for the remainder of 2020/21, with his pace, excellent positional sense and refusal to back down or accept defeat playing an important part as we conceded just two goals in 14 games at the start of our new head coach’s reign, even if one of those two was a Rudiger own-goal after a mix-up with Edouard Mendy.

All the attributes which made him so important to our excellent defensive record were summed up by one brilliant tackle in our Champions League final win, coming from nowhere to dive in at the last minute and prevent what seemed like a certain goal by Manchester City’s Phil Foden.

He also showed a desire to get on the ball and make things happen, as well as the occasional charge forward out of defence, which was arguably just as important to our style of play under Tuchel, and resulted in him exerting an influence at the other end of the pitch too.

It was Rudiger’s brilliant ball over the top which released Christian Pulisic to score our away goal at Real Madrid in the first leg of our Champions League semi-final victory, and the German netted his only goal of the season at a crucial time, opening the scoring in the 2-1 win against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge which proved decisive to securing a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Antonio Rudiger 2020/21 Chelsea stats

Appearances: 34

Starts: 32

Substituted: 0

Unused sub: 17

Minutes played: 3,132

Goals: 1

Assists: 1

Antonio Rudiger Premier League appearances 2020/21

Antonio Rudiger played 19 games in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, all of them from the start.

Antonio Rudiger Champions League appearances 2020/21

Antonio Rudiger made 11 appearances in the Champions League this season, one of them as a substitute.

Antonio Rudiger FA Cup appearances 2020/21

Antonio Rudiger played four games in the FA Cup this season, one of them from the bench.

Antonio Rudiger Carabao Cup appearances 2020/21

Antonio Rudiger did not play in the Carabao Cup this season.

Antonio Rudiger goals 2020/21

Antonio Rudiger scored one goal for Chelsea in 2020/21, in the Premier League.