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Ruben Loftus-Cheek hat-trick inspired Chelsea to a comfortable 3-1 victory at
home to BATE Borisov on Thursday night.
On just his second start of the season, it took Loftus-Cheek just two minutes to
score his first Chelsea goal since April 2016.
The midfielder made it 2-0 six minutes later, and he sealed an unlikely
hat-trick in the second half when curling an effort into the far corner (53).
Aleksei Rios scored a late consolation (79) for the Belarusian side, but victory
maintains Chelsea's perfect start in Europe, and three wins from three in Group
L means they are within touching distance of reaching the knockout stages.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Zappacosta (8), Cahill (7), Christensen (8), Emerson (7),
Fabregas (7), Kovacic (7), Loftus-Cheek (9), Willian (8), Pedro (7), Giroud (6)
Subs: Moses (6), Hudson-Odoi (6), Kante (6)
BATE: Scherbitski (6), Rios (7), Filipovic (6), Filipenko (6), Volodko (6), Baga
(6), Dragun (6), Hleb (6), Skavysh (5), Signevich (5), Stasevich (5)
Subs: Ivanic (6), Tuominen (6), Yablonski (6)
Man of the match: Loftus-Cheek
Chelsea got off to the perfect start at Stamford Bridge, with Davide Zappacosta
picking out Loftus-Cheek, who met the cross from 12 yards out before stroking it
home.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring after just two minutes
Loftus-Cheek soon doubled Chelsea's advantage, turning in Willian's corner from
inside the six-yard area, stealing ahead of team-mate Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea could have extended their lead further before half-time, registering 15
shots in the opening 45 minutes, but Willian saw an attempt saved, while
Loftus-Cheek spurned a hat-trick by heading wide.
Team news
Chelsea made eight changes from the 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Saturday.
Only Kepa, Mateo Kovacic and Willian remained in the starting XI. Eden Hazard
was out with a back injury.
After the break, Loftus-Cheek started and finished an attack to complete his
hat-trick, picking out Pedro before latching onto the loose ball and tucking an
effort beyond goalkeeper Denis Scherbitski, who should have done better with the
strike from 18 yards out.
Giroud's wait for a first club goal of the season goes on meanwhile, and it took
a superb reflex save from Scherbitski to deny the Frenchman with 20 minutes to
go.
Chelsea were hardly tested all night defensively, but they did go to sleep in
the 79th minute, allowing Rios to tap in unmarked from a free-kick.
Opta stats
Chelsea have won their first three group stage games in a season in major
European competition for the first time since the 2010-11 Champions League
campaign.
Loftus-Cheek became the first English player to score a European hat-trick for
Chelsea since September 29 1971; when Peter Osgood scored five goals and Tommy
Baldwin netted three against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners' Cup.
Loftus-Cheek's opening goal came with his first shot on target for Chelsea in
2018-19 (in his fourth appearance) - he then scored with his second and third
shots on target of the season later in the game.
Loftus-Cheek scored more goals in the opening 53 minutes of this match tonight
(3) as he had previously in 35 games for Chelsea (2).
Man of the match - Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Who else but Chelsea's hat-trick hero? The three goals only tell the start of
his near-perfect display at Stamford Bridge.
The English midfielder put in one of his best performances for the club,
dictating play and driving the ball forward at every opportunity. He could have
scored five on the night, and as he takes the match ball home, he also gives
Maurizio Sarri something to think about when the Chelsea boss chooses his
Premier League line-up on the weekend.
What's next?
Chelsea return to Premier League action on Sunday, and will look to continue
their unbeaten start to the league campaign when travelling to Sean Dyche's
Burnley in a 1.30pm kick-off.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Kepa, Zappacosta, Christensen, Cahill (c), Emerson,
Loftus-Cheek, Fabregas, Kovacic (Kante 78), Willian (Moses 57), Giroud, Pedro
(Hudson-Odoi 60)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Rudiger, Barkley, Morata
Booked
Goals Loftus-Cheek 2, 8, 53
BATE Borisov Scherbitski, Rios, Filipovic, Filipenko, Volodko,
Baga (Yablonski 76), Dragun, Hleb (Ivanic 59), Skavysh, Stasevich (c), Signevich
(Tuominen 71)
Subs Not Used Chichkan, Berezkin, Volkov, Moukam
Booked Hleb
Goals Rios 79
Attendance 39,799
Referee Paolo Mazzoleni