Cole says Chelsea duo were badly missed against Zenit

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Joe Cole believes Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Zenit underlined how important Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger are to the team.

Neither centre-back was involved in the game in Russia, where the holders were defensively poor and conceded a stoppage-time equaliser which meant they missed out on top spot in their Champions League group.


And former Blues star Cole has no doubt the presence of Rudiger or veteran defender Silva would have made all the difference.

Speaking on BT Sport, Cole said: “You take Rudiger and Thiago Silva – two leaders – out of the team and they look disjointed.

“We haven’t seen this from a Thiago Silva side. You take the leaders out of the team and these things can happen.

“When one of the two don’t play it generally upsets the team.”

With Chelsea already sure of a place in the knockout stage, boss Thomas Tuchel clearly had one eye on this weekend’s game against Leeds.

“Tuchel has got it spot-on since he’s come in and obviously his focus is on Leeds, but he will be disappointed,” Cole said.