WHAT A CHEEK!
RUBEN HITS HAT-TRICK
ThIS, surely, cannot go on. As ruben Loftus-cheek gave a timely reminder of his potential, one glaring statistic stood out. This talented 22-year- old has still played more minutes for England this season than he has for chelsea in the Premier League.
his lot for England is not much to shout about, either — just 61 minutes, in the least important game of the season, the friendly win over Switzerland. In the Premier League he has played 33 minutes against modest opponents in Bournemouth and huddersfield. Most remarkably, 922 days and two managers have passed since Loftus-cheek last started a Premier League match for chelsea.
As meek as BATE Borisov may be, a starting place represented dizzy heights for Loftus-cheek. As auditions go, it was blistering. he became the sixth chelsea player to score a hat-trick in European competition, joining club legends didier drogba, Gianluca Vialli, Tommy Baldwin, Peter Osgood and Terry Venables.
Yet still Maurizio Sarri said Loftus-cheek has an uphill battle for a place and demanded improvement. ‘ In the offensive phase — wonderful,’ said the manager. ‘ But he needs to improve his defensive phase. I can play only 11 players. I know the fans love him and he was in the academy. But my problem remains the same. I have four midfielders for two positions.’
Loftus-cheek’s first contribution was most memorable for passing a ball out of play and Sarri shaking his head.
Thankfully, matters improved and by the hour, chelsea supporters were singing ‘Loftuscheek, he’s one of our own’. The fans were further encouraged when callum hudson- Odoi, an Under 17 England World cup-winner, arrived for the final half-hour.
With minutes at a premium, Loftus-cheek was not messing about. his first goal came after 103 seconds as he timed a run to meet davide zappacosta’s low cross and fire chelsea in front. If
his first showcased his technical poise, the second, on eight minutes, underlined his strength as he held off his marker and hooked Willian’s corner into the goal.
Loftus-Cheek, who could have earned a penalty when pushed to the ground by Stanislaw Dragun in the second half, completed his hat-trick when a curling right-foot strike from distance slid through the grasp of goalkeeper Denis Scherbitskiy.
His was a rampant, dominant performance and he could have had a fourth when he galloped onwards beyond the Bate defence and forced a fine save from Scherbitskiy.
‘My first hat-trick since youth teams,’ said Loftus-Cheek. ‘I’ll get this ball signed and put it in a glass box. I keep sharp for the times when I do come on or get an opportunity.’
If not food for thought, it may at least leave Sarri with more cigarette butts to chew as he plots the future. But Loftus-Cheek is surely reaching a critical point where he must be given a run or look elsewhere for his football.
the positives were spread throughout a Chelsea side that featured eight changes from the draw against Manchester United. there was a clue, too, for Sunday’s trip to Burnley, as Ross Barkley was rested and Mateo Kovacic started.
On a night of almost embarrassing ease. Chelsea had 23 shots and the visitors’ late consolation only came when Chelsea switched off at a set-play and aleksey Rios stabbed in at the far post.
Nevertheless, Group L of the europa League has been all but wrapped up before the clocks go back. Chelsea are a Champions League team operating in the europa League and Cesc Fabregas had the freedom to dictate play, almost releasing Willian with a piercing 60-yard ball over the top. On a night Stamford Bridge was spared the latest episode of alvaro Morata’s personal trauma, Olivier Giroud sought to end his own run of 636 minutes without a goal in a Chelsea shirt.
Yet the Frenchman was slow to react when fed by Willian. He then spun Yahor Filipenko and struck powerfully, only to be denied by a fine save. His wait goes on and for one night only, Chelsea revolved only around Loftus-Cheek.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Kepa 6; Zappacosta 7, Christensen 6, Cahill 6, Emerson 6;
LOFTUS-CHEEK 8, Fabregas 7.5, Kovacic 6; Willian 7 (Moses 57, 6), Giroud 6, Pedro 6.5 (Hudson-Odoi 60, 6).
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Kante, Barkley, Morata. Scorer: Loftus-Cheek 2, 8, 53. Manager: Maurizio Sarri 7.
BATE BORISOV (4-3-3): Scherbitski 6; Rios 5.5, Filipovic 5, Filipenko 5, Volodko 5.5; Baga 5 (Yablonski 76), Dragun 5.5, Hleb 6 (Ivanic 59, 6); Skavysh 6, Signevich 5.5 (Tuominen 71, 5.5), Stasevich 6. Subs not used: Chichkan, Berezkin, Volkov, Moukam. Booked: Hleb.
Manager: Aleksei Baga 5. Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni 6.