Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger responded to Barcelona speculation with a 35-yard thunderbolt in the 48th minute to put the Blues in front against Brentford in the Premier League.
Rudiger, 28, finally was rewarded for his special skill of striking a ball from a long distance as his attempt in this game hit the post but bounced in past the helpless David Raya to give the Blues a lead. It was a goal that sparked the game in the wrong way for Chelsea as Brentford raised their level immediately after and responded with their own flurry of goals. A Vitaly Janelt double coupled with a special moment for former Spurs man Christian Eriksen meant that in the end, the moment of brilliance from the contract rebel could be forgotten quite quickly.
Nonetheless, his effort at the time caused some much-needed jubilation for a fanbase who are still uncertain with whom will be handed the keys to Stamford Bridge in the long-term. As his effort hit the back of the net after the post tried to thwart this, Rudiger reeled away with all the players, stuck his tongue out, and made some funny faces as he went towards manager Thomas Tuchel who was quick to embrace him. His teammates all patted him on the back, but that moment must have really lit something for Brentford as they used this mini setback to hit three goals in quick succession against an Edouard Mendy, who had been injured in the first half, in spite of his insistence on this occasion to carry on.
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It wasn't a great chain of events if you are from the Chelsea persuasion, but it must have been nice for the central defender to silence Barcelona talks that had surfaced in the build-up to this fixture. "If it's true, of course. I would try to meet him if I was at any other club. He's still our player, and we still think there's a good chance he stays our player once things are solved. This situation is the situation at the moment, and our hands are tied. We cannot speak or negotiate with him and his agent. Fair enough if it's true that he listens to other offers. That's the way things go, but I am still confident." Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
Xavi responded too: "I will not talk about deals. We are fighting over several goals. I know that you like to talk about specific names, but now we are fighting in the final stages of the season. The management is working to strengthen the team for next season." Whilst talk will continue over the forthcoming weeks as to what eventually happens with Chelsea's number 2, his latest goal, which was a wonder strike, demonstrates once again that all the noise off the pitch hasn't affected his fortunes on it.
