No hiding Loftus-Cheek’s talent as sub proves Chelsea match-winner

A “way overdue” first Chelsea goal for three years in a match in which he was the clear point of difference between the two sides marks perhaps the most significant individual moment yet in the ongoing and rather wonderful Ruben Loftus-Cheek renaissance.

From key member of England’s World Cup semi-finalists four years ago, it has been a tough road for the midfielder who has found himself in turn out of favour, injured or out of loan and always striving to rediscover the levels everyone – not least himself – knew he was capable of reaching. He has, in the post-match words of his manager, “hidden his talent” for much of his career, but here a driving forward-thinking midfield performance from the bench grabbed hold of a game that Chelsea had – perhaps inevitably – and that – also unsurprisingly – Crystal Palace were successfully keeping tight and cagey.

In hindsight, Palace will wonder whether they should have done more to put Chelsea under even greater pressure in that first 45 minutes but it’s hard to argue with a strategy based on dragging Chelsea as far as possible into a tight game to test the physical and mental wounds of those 180 minutes in Madrid.

It’s a gameplan that was working well in the first half and only started to change when an injury to Mateo Kovacic forced Thomas Tuchel into an early change and the introduction of Loftus-Cheek. It was a key moment in the match. Tellingly, Loftus-Cheek’s presence on the bench rather than in the starting XI was because of his exertions at Southampton and Madrid rather than any comment on his quality. All else being equal he would surely have started, and it was a different game after his introduction.

With Mason Mount continuing his own recent good form post-haircut by