Chelsea Opinion: Ruben Loftus-Cheek ran the show in the Blues’ 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt
Chelsea failed to capitalise on their chances, as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw away from home by Eintracht Frankfurt in the first-leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals on Thursday night.
Maurizio Sarri’s side were the outright favourites heading into the tie, though the fans would have been well aware of the fact that Frankfurt were very much capable of pulling off a surprise or two, having already knocked out the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Benfica in the earlier in the competition.
Chelsea got off to a nervous start in the first leg away from home and the travelling Blues’ fans would have feared an upset when Luka Jovic fired the Bundesliga outfit into the lead.
The Serb checked his run to outsmart David Luiz and Andreas Christensen and beat Arrizabalaga with a well-placed header off Filip Kostic’s cross from the left. Frankfurt had their moments earlier in the game and they could have got themselves a bigger lead had skipper David Abraham managed to keep his shot down.
However, Chelsea settled down gradually as the game wore on and the Blues stamped their authority with some good purposeful passing in the midfield.
They came under criticism for the lack of cutting edge in their attack in the 1-1 draw against Man United in the Premier League but Sarri’s side managed to create plenty of chances on the night, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek being the key driving force operating in a No.10 role.
On a night where Gonzalo Higuain and Eden Hazard started from the bench, Loftus-Cheek was involved in much of Chelsea’s creative play in the final third. Chelsea’s de facto No.10 sizzled and fizzed with directness and youthful exuberance, posing a constant threat to the Germans and taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
The 23-year-old has struggled to nail down a regular starting role in the Premier League he reminded the manager once again that he is by far the most creative midfielder that the Blues have in their ranks at the moment, certainly head and shoulders above the likes of Kante, Kovacic and Jorginho in that aspect.
Loftus-Cheek and Pedro both fired their shots tantalisingly wide of the post from outside the box before the youngster created a goal for the team with his sheer desire and perseverance. He won the ball back from Willian’s corner and showed a tremendous piece of awareness to find Pedro, who put his left boot through the ball to score the equaliser.
It was all one-way traffic in the second half, as Chelsea went all out in their pursuit of the second away goal. Frankfurt’s attack looked a bit disjointed in the absence of Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic.
The Blues took advantage of the situation, dictating the play, dominating possession and constantly threatening to rip the opposition apart. Unsurprisingly, Loftus-Cheek looked the likeliest of the players on the pitch to get on the scoresheet.
The youngster could have put Chelsea in the lead after combining brilliantly with Pedro, only to fire his shot over the bar from close range. He caused plenty of problems for the hosts with his powerful physical presence, running with purpose and beating the defenders for fun with his dribbling skills.
He had another shot saved by Kevin Trapp before being replaced by Mateo Kovacic late in the second half, much to everybody’s surprise.
Loftus-Cheek won a whopping 11 out of 18 duels on the pitch and successfully completed 9 out of his attempted 11 dribbles, figures which are absolutely remarkable. He registered a total of 45 passes at an accuracy percentage of 86.7, including 3 key passes and 2 successful long balls.
Add to that 4 shots, 1 clearance and 1 interception and those stats certainly look amazing on paper.
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It remains to be seen whether Maurizio Sarri agrees to field Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the starting eleven at home against Watford in the Premier League on Sunday.
