Antonio Rudiger says Chelsea had to “punish” Leicester City after what he claims was “disrespect” to the club’s history by Daniel Amartey.
A video emerged on social media of Leicester’s Amartey throwing the club pennant during their FA Cup celebrations, following the Foxes’ 1-0 victory against Chelsea at Wembley.
The Blues then won the Premier League tie between the two sides on Tuesday night, putting them in pole position to claim Champions League qualification.
Rudiger opened the scoring in the 2-1 victory, and explained afterwards why the Chelsea players had “a bit more motivation”.
He said (via Evening Standard): “We wanted to show them because top four was on the line and unfortunately some people from them don’t know how to celebrate.
“We had to punish them for this.
“After we lost the final we talked with each other, that it’s a massive game coming up and we are on it.
“Some people from them gave us a bit more motivation.
“Congratulations to then, they won, celebrate and everything. But don’t disrespect club history. This is a bit bigger than you.”
Chelsea attempting to secure CL qualification
Victory for the Blues over Leicester means they have taken a vital step towards reaching the Champions League.
They sit in third place on 67 points, knowing that a win away to Aston Villa will secure them a top four place.
Dean Smith’s side defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 last night, thanks to an own goal from Sergio Reguilon and a 16th goal of the season from Ollie Watkins.
Leicester host Spurs on the final day, and with Liverpool now ahead of them in fourth on 66 points, they need either one of their two rivals to drop points or, in the Reds’ case, a swing of four goals to reach the top four.
Should Chelsea drop out of the qualification places altogether, they would still reach the Champions League should they defeat Manchester City in this season’s Champions League final on May 29.
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