Ruben Loftus-Cheek played a strong shift for Chelsea against Stoke, winning the corner that set up Gary Cahill’s winning goal. This was the third key moment where Antonio Conte turned to a young player in a high-pressure situation.
Antonio Conte’s decision to play a nearly-full strength squad against Wolves in the FA Cup seemed to herald the end of playing time for Chelsea’s younger players. The previous two rounds featured Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the starting XI. Chalobah started against Wolves, but Loftus-Cheek only saw a few minutes at the end of the tie.
Neither Chalobah nor Loftus-Cheek came on against Manchester United in the quarter-finals. With the pressure mounting in both the Premier League and FA Cup, Conte relied increasingly on his best XI to see out the the final run.
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Conte turned to Ruben Loftus-Cheek last weekend against Stoke, though. Loftus-Cheek impacted the game significantly with the short opportunity Conte gave him.
This was the third time that Conte trusted a youth player as a substitute in a critical juncture of a match and the youngster repaid that trust. In Chelsea’s second game of the season against Watford, Chelsea trailed 1-0 late in the second half. Michy Batshuayi replaced Oscar in the 73′, and equalized seven minutes later. Diego Costa then clinched the winner.
Against Manchester City in December, Antonio Conte put Nathaniel Chalobah on for Costa to protect a 2-1 lead. Chalobah not only protected the three points, but also protected David Luiz from Sergio Aguero’s flying kick.
Conte brought Ruben Loftus-Cheek in for Nemanja Matic in the 82′ against Stoke. The score was 1-1 at the time. While Stoke were content to dig in and protect the draw, Antonio Conte pursued a win. By sending on Loftus-Cheek, Conte chose someone who he could trust to help give Chelsea the lead and then see out the game.
"Conte could bring him on, push for a winner and then – if we got the winner – not have to worry about having two strikers on the pitch… Despite the fact that Conte hasn’t been playing these players as much as I would like, he has picked and chosen his moments very cleverly. – Daniel Mcclue, The Blue Lions"
Loftus-Cheek arguably handled the pressure on the club better than he handled the pressure on himself. He needed very little time to enter the flow of the game. He quickly involved himself in the play and showed great understanding and comfort with Conte’s expectations.
At times, though, he seemed to overthink his own play. He had several opportunities to take clear shots on goal. Instead, he looked for the impossibly perfect moment to do so. He knew what a rare chance he had and wanted to make the most of it. In doing so, he overrode his own natural instincts, which would have served his purposes better.
Michy Batshuayi showed similar tendencies in the middle part of the season. When he played, he played well. But it seemingly was still not good enough. As the pressure mounted, he exhibited less of the fluidity and instinct that makes a top striker. Earlier in the season, when it looked like he was Diego Costa’s backup – if not competition – those natural tendencies were much more evident.
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A manager needs to have a high level of trust in a player to send him on in a high-pressure situation. While Chelsea’s youth may not get the quantity of minutes as some would hope, in many cases the quality and significance of their minutes is substantial. Conte trusts his next-generation more than it sometimes appears.