Chelsea are currently placed at the top of the 2021-22 Premier League standings with 26 points from their 11 games. They are three points clear of Man City and West Ham United, who are in second and third place respectively, and are four points clear of fourth-placed Liverpool. The Blues have proven themselves to be the best defensive unit in the league, along with being one of the best of the attacking sides. They have conceded just four goals so far, with Manchester City the only other team to concede less than 10 goals, with six.
Thomas Tuchel had promised on joining Chelsea that he would want to build a team that no one wants to play against, and he has become successful. His backline is strong, and has used five or six different centre-back trios at the back in 11 games, and has still been able to get great results. In this post, we will have a look at some of the stats of Antonio Rudiger and his defensive dashboard in order to analyze his performances in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s defense has been the best, conceding just the four goals in 11 games, and has had many different centre-back pairing. The above viz shows the defensive dashboard for Toni Rudiger in the Premier League. The black line in the viz shows the average value for the stat for all defenders in the division. The stats show that some of his stats are above average, while others are below average.
The viz above shows the locations where Rudiger has participated in any kind of defensive duels. One can see that as he plays on the left-hand side of the three centre-backs, most of his duels, tackles, and interceptions come on that side of the pitch. He has proved to be one of the best and even likes to show his skill whenever he bursts forward with the ball.
The heat map Rudiger possesses, shows that he is not someone who runs around a lot and covers the ground tremendously in matches. Instead, he uses his intelligence, and the instructions from the manager to stay in position and help the team from there. He is also good aerially, winning a lot of aerial duels in defense, and is also a target during corners.
Chelsea’s organization and performances under Thomas Tuchel have been great, as there has not been much to do for the defenders like Rudiger in most games where the opposition goes deep and defends. Still, Rudiger has now been talked among the best centre-backs in the world, which he highly deserves.
