Antonio Rudiger demanded an explanation for Edouard Mendy’s Ballon d’Or snub after his man of the match performance against Brentford on Saturday.
Thomas Tuchel was forced to make changes in defence in the absence of his German compatriot Rudiger and most experienced central defender Thiago Silva.
Malang Sarr was handed his Premier League debut, while Trevor Chalobah was given another chance to impress after his eye-catching start to the new campaign.
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The Blues coped admirably with Brentford’s physical threat in the opening period and took the lead shortly before the break courtesy of Ben Chilwell’s volley.
The London club were, however, largely second best in the second half and owed their win to Mendy, who produced a number of stunning late saves to secure three points which took Chelsea to the top of the table.
Chelsea have five Ballon d’Or nominees but Mendy, surprisingly given his contribution to his club’s success last campaign, was not among them, a decision which looked even more shocking after his heroics on Saturday.
‘Someone explain why he’s not nominated for the Ballon d’Or,’ Rudiger wrote on Twitter. ‘What a performance… EDOUARD MENDY.’
‘[Edouard] Mendy was superb,’ added Chilwell, whose goal proved decisive. ‘We see it every day in training and he is now getting the credit he deserves in these games by making big saves to get us the points.
‘We showed our steel and how strong we are defensively. We spoke about coming out and trying to get back in the swing of things. The preparation is not brilliant but it is about mentality and that was there.
‘You have ups and downs the important thing is to train hard and when you get your chances take it.’
