Chelsea won 3-2 yesterday, a game which saw some 9 changes from their EFL Cup final loss on Sunday.
Tiredness and injuries were hitting hard after a draining cup final that went all the way to penalties, and given there aren’t many easy games left this season, Thomas Tuchel had to grab this chance to rest players.
One beneficiary was Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who slotted into the team – but had to play at centre back. He didn’t look comfortable early on, but as the game developed and Chelsea pushed forward more, he was able to really get into stride, and by the end of the game he had won the BBC’s man of the match award.
The Chelsea official website had an interesting interview with the converted midfielder, who explained it wasn’t the same as when he had played the position before:
“It came as a surprise to me! I found out the day before that I might have to do a job there. A lot of our defenders have got niggles and there’s some players who played 120 minutes plus penalties at the weekend,” Loftus-Cheek explained.
“You have to do a job where you get put and I still tried to bring my qualities and what makes me Loftus-Cheek to the game. That’s all I could do but I really enjoyed it.
“I played centre-back when I was 12 or 13, for a season or two, and I never liked it! But tonight was a bit different, I played as a centre-back in a back four when I was younger. This time I had more licence to step out and create the attack from the start, so I enjoyed it.”
Given the competition in the squad, players will always be happy to get some minutes, in whatever competition and whatever position. RLC certainly made the most of his opportunity last night.
