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https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/03/03/
loftus-cheek-on-a--tough--win-and-his--surprise--new-role

Loftus-Cheek on a tough win and his surprise new role

03 Mar 2022


Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed his satisfaction at our comeback to win
3-2 at Luton Town in the FA Cup, as well as admitting he was as surprised
as anyone to find himself lining up at centre-back for the game.


https://i.imgur.com/KMcqgSf.jpg


We twice found ourselves behind against our Championship opponents at a
wet and cold Kenilworth Road, but kept pushing to equalise on both
occasions before taking the lead with just over 10 minutes left to book
our place in the quarter-finals.


Following a classic FA Cup tie with underdogs hungry for an upset at home,
Loftus-Cheek explained it was a game he enjoyed competing in despite the
hostile atmosphere and difficult conditions, as well as believing we can
be proud of the character we showed to come back and win.


'It was very tough, especially going down quite early and the fans getting
behind them,' he said. 'You saw in the players' eyes that it gave them a
lot of hope and that's what we didn't want early on.


'We wanted to keep the fans quiet and show what we're about early on so we
could kind of diminish their hope of getting a result. To go 2-1 down as
well, it was a difficult night but credit to the boys that we clawed our
way back and got the job done in the end.


'It's enjoyable to play in a game like this with these conditions. It
doesn't really look enjoyable to play in, but when the conditions are like
this and the stadium's loud, that's what you want to play in as a
footballer.


https://i.imgur.com/BzVJqI0.jpg
"I love playing in these kind of games"


'It's a very nice experience to play in when you look back at it, so well
done to the boys and we're into the next round. The Chelsea fans were
fantastic, we heard them throughout and they gave us the support we needed
to claw our way back. So thank you to the Chelsea fans.'


Thomas Tuchel made nine changes to his starting line-up for this FA Cup
tie, following Sunday's Carabao Cup final. That was partly forced, as
injuries restricted our head coach's options, especially in defence.


That resulted in Loftus-Cheek being required to play an unfamiliar role in
the team for the first time, at the centre of our back three, and the
26-year-old admits it wasn't a switch he had been expecting until very
recently.


'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.


https://i.imgur.com/80MYHBb.jpg
Loftus-Cheek plays out from the back at Luton


'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.'


He certainly managed to contribute plenty to our attacking play despite
being positioned at the heart of our defence, including providing the
weighted pass that played in Timo Werner for the second of our two
equalisers, although Loftus-Cheek was quick to hand the credit to the
striker.


https://i.imgur.com/PK4vmqm.jpg
Werner celebrates his equalising goal


'I had a lot of time on the ball and no-one was pressuring me,' he added.
'So I looked up and Timo was pointing in behind and I just tried to pick
him out. I think it was a great touch and a great finish from Timo, so
credit to him.'

--

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"Girl, you can't even call this shit a war." "Why not?"

"Wars end." - The Wire: Season 1, Episode 1

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