Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger fronted up to the dismayed travelling fans at the Etihad on Sunday following the 6-0 defeat to Manchester City.
A Sergio Aguero hat-trick as well as a brace from Raheem Sterling and an Ilkay Gundogan finish inflicted Chelsea’s heaviest defeat of the Premier League era, just over a week after losing 4-0 down at Bournemouth.
After the whistle the German defender headed for the away end and, as opposed to merely applauding their support, got as close as he could before becoming involved in a heated exchange with one fan.
One Blues fan claimed on Twitter that another in the away end had ‘abused’ Rudiger, who apparently responded by saying: “I’ve come over to say sorry, stand in front of me if you‘ve something to say,” before handing his shirt to a young fan.
Another fan was seen to throw their Chelsea membership onto the Etihad pitch following the defeat, while captain Cesar Azpilicueta apologised to the supporters on what he dubbed one of the lowest points of his career.
"It is one of the worst nights in my career. It is difficult to explain what happened,” he said.
"The first five or six minutes went well but that is not enough. We are conceding a lot of goals and we cannot accept that.
"All I can do is apologise to the fans because it is not acceptable."
