Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta calls on fans not to abuse Antonio Rudiger

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Louise Thomas

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Cesar Azpilicueta has urged Chelsea fans not to take any of their frustrations out on Antonio Rudiger following Frank Lampard’s sacking.

In the immediate aftermath of Lampard’s dismissal this week, speculation spread about the German defender disrupting the harmony in the Blues squad with an alleged disagreement with Azpilicueta.

Rudiger was frozen out of Lampard’s plans earlier this season, which led to reports of a move away, until a surprise recall over the last month with four starts in Lampard’s final five matches in charge.

Following Lampard’s exit the German has been a target for abuse on social media prompting striker Tammy Abraham into defending his“big bro” and Azpilicueta quoting his tweet with a picture of both defenders celebrating a goal together, adding three blue heart emojis.

“We saw that [in the past] and sometimes when a manager leaves, people can blame some players but we are players, we are humans and we always want to do the best for the club, for the manager," Azpilicueta said.

“That’s our job, that’s our passion and obviously we are not happy when results are not going well and sometimes, yes, we have seen the reaction from the fans but there is no issue. We are all together working.

“Of course, of course, 100 per cent [do not abuse Rudiger]. You see now social media, lots of abuse, you know we doing campaigns about racism, all of this, and you know it’s sad when you see people abusing.

“The fans I ask for unity, together, difficult times. We want the best for the team and, hopefully, this negativity we can leave it behind and we go together.

“We miss the fans, so we would like to be together fighting in these tough moments like we have always done. We always overcome the difficulties.”