Loftus-Cheek the Hat-trick hero for chelsea as the blues thumps BATE 3-1

Ruben Loftus-Cheek provided a timely reminder of his quality with a fine hat-trick in just his second start of the season as Chelsea sealed a comprehensive 3-1 win over BATE in the Europa League.

The pick of his goals came in the 53rd minute to put the result beyond doubt and, despite Aleksey Rios scoring a late consolation goal for the visitors, he continued to shine on an evening that will go down as one of his best as a Chelsea player.

Davide Zappacosta sped down the right flank in the second minute and cut the ball back to Loftus-Cheek who provided a clinical finish, steering a first-time shot just to the right of goalkeeper Denis Scherbitski without hesitation.

Loftus-Cheek’s second was all about his positional play, the 22-year-old arriving ahead of Olivier Giroud to apply a side-footed volley to Willian’s corner and again finding the net low to Scherbitski’s right.

A move that started with Loftus Cheek in his own half saw Pedro burst down the left flank and, when he was dispossessed, Chelsea’s home-grown talent was on hand to guide home his hat-trick goal.

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A @rubey_lcheek hat-trick seals all three points for the Blues! 👌#CFCvBATE pic.twitter.com/iAwe1jU7qP

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 25, 2018