Ruben Loftus-Cheek made the most out of his rare Chelsea start

Chelsea embarked on its quest for Carabao Cup with a win against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. A much-changed starting XI needed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s heroics in the penalty shootout to progress. This game also allowed manager Thomas Tuchel to test the members of his squad who have not featured much for the team.

Apart from Arrizabalaga, none of the players who started on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur retained their spot. As expected, it took a while for the team to get going against a rejuvenated Aston Villa. Many of the players even struggled to keep up their rhythm. However, the one player who never looked as if he was starting for Chelsea in a competitive match for the first time in forever was Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The fans saw the glimpse of the guy who became regular for Maurizio Sarri before a serious injury put a hold on his progress more than two years ago. It had everything fans expected from him.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek stood out amongst the Chelsea players on Wednesday

It was thought Loftus-Cheek will be either sold or loaned out. Rumors were connecting him with teams in England and other top leagues around Europe. None of them materialized and he opted to stay in SW6 knowing chances will be few and far between, especially considering the form and impact of players ahead of him. Hence, it was vital for the midfielder and the club that he made the most of the rare start he got.

Wednesday’s match was his first meaningful action under Tuchel. Before that, he only got the last few minutes of action against Zenit in the first group stage match of the Champions League. It can be conclusively remarked Loftus-Cheek has put forward his case for more minutes emphatically. It would not be farfetched to say that he has jumped over summer loanee Saul Niguez in the pecking order after his performance. Saul enjoyed a better outing than he had against the same opposition in the Premier League, but there were moments where he struggled. He has the quality in him to settle in this team, being a loanee and the performance of Loftus-Cheek mean he needs to kick on soon before it’s extremely late though.

On the other hand, Malang Sarr experienced a challenging game. He was also a culprit multiple times of losing possession to Villa in vulnerable areas. Many of the times both Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James had to be extra alert to negate the danger. Ben Chilwell was starting his first game since the Champions League final on May 29, as well. Despite his rustiness, he produced a solid performance. On the other side of the pitch, Callum Hudson-Odoi was unable to influence the game as much as fans expected. Even against Ashley Young, who is in the twilight of his career, Hudson-Odoi rarely got the upper hand.

Up top, both Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech failed to make an impact in the first half. Things improved in the second half and Werner was rewarded with a goal after a brilliant cross from James. Ross Barkley—who came on as a substitute in the second half—also looked fired up. Tuchel and his staff will have learned a lot about the squad after the match against Villa. Apart from one or two, most of the players could struggle for more game time at least until the next round match in the Carabao Cup when the Blues play Southampton at Stamford Bridge. Nevertheless, the performance of Loftus-Cheek will be more than pleasant sight for Tuchel.

What did you make of Loftus-Cheek’s performance? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!