Antonio Rudiger has revealed just how much Chelsea's defeat to Wolves last week frustrated manager Maurizio Sarri, leading to the turnaround in attitude which saw the Blues beat Manchester City a few days later.
Sarri's side threw away a 1-0 lead against newly-promoted Wolves in midweek, losing 2-1, but bounced back strongly to inflict a first league defeat of the season on the defending champions, knocking them off top spot in the table.
Passion - Dedication - Fighting Spirit 💯
— Antonio Rüdiger (@ToniRuediger) December 8, 2018
. the team was on fire tonight 🔥
Massive home win with a clean sheet 👊🏾 #Hustle #AlwaysBelieve #CHEMCI @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/RiwJEhq09y
Quoted by ESPN, Rudiger said: "After the Wolves game, he was terrifying. He was going crazy. But that was OK, because we shouldn't have lost this match. The day after, he was very calm and clear-minded. He spoke with us and made it clear that we have to believe in ourselves. He wanted us to go into the City game looking for the win."
Rudiger admitted that a change in mindset was needed if the Blues were to bounce back from a difficult couple of weeks, which put a dampener on a lightning-fast start to the season.
"We spoke together," he added. "We all knew what was going on, we didn't have to lie to ourselves -- the mentality was the problem. One of the things that made us strong in difficult moments last season was that we knew how to suffer. This season, because things were so good, we were thinking: 'We don't need to suffer.'
WE HAVE A RACE ON OUR HANDS@ChelseaFC's @hazardeden10 says they will "fight to the end" to reach the top four and challenge for the Premier League title
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 10, 2018
More Chelsea news here: https://t.co/QX4OfXp2bL pic.twitter.com/jZvOT4hp9F
"Two teams, Tottenham and Wolves, proved us wrong. That's why, against Manchester City, everyone saw a team that was ready to fight. We wanted to take the supporters with us and we did that. We were playing beautiful football at the start of the season, but that doesn't mean you forget the ugly side of it -- winning tackles, tracking back, doing everything defensively."
Source: 90min