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Football London
Football London
Sport
Oliver Harbord

'He's back!' - Chelsea fans delighted as key man returns to starting team for Lille clash

Chelsea are back in Champions League action tonight and the Blues are able to welcome back Antonio Rudiger against Lille.

The Germany defender has played just 45 minutes of action all season, getting over a knee injury and then having to deal with a groin issue.

However, Blues boss Frank Lampard confirmed that the centre-back was fully fit and he has thrown him straight back into the starting XI.

Rudiger will partner Kurt Zouma in the heart of the defence, and the decision by Lampard to have his key man back in the team has gone down very well with Chelsea fans.

Lampard made three changes to the team who lost to Everton at the weekend, with Mason Mount coming out of the team for Jorginho.

The slight surprise was that Reece James was dropped to the bench, with Cesar Azpilicueta moving back over to the right and Emerson Palmieri starting at left-back.

The Blues need three points tonight to secure their place in the knockout stages of the competition, being on the same amount of points as Valencia.

A draw and they will need the Spanish side to lose to Ajax at the Johan Cruijff ArenA this evening.

If they lose tonight then Chelsea will be playing Europa League football for the rest of the season.

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