‘It came as a surprise’: Chelsea player shocked by what Tuchel said to him just before last night’s game

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek revealed he was told on the eve of the Luton Town clash about the possibility of playing in defence for Chelsea.

As quoted by the 5^th Stand, the midfielder explained how short notice Thomas Tuchel’s decision was to deploy him as a defender.  

Why was Loftus-Cheek in defence?

Some supporters may have scratched their heads upon seeing Loftus-Cheek lining up between Antonio Rudiger and Malang Sarr yesterday.

However, considering the number of injuries and wounds Chelsea carried into the FA Cup fifth-round fixture, the sight of any playing standing, no matter where they were standing, must’ve been comforting.

Regular protectors Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Marcos Alonso, Trevoh Chalobah and Andreas Christensen all missed out on Wednesday’s trip to Luton.

Reece James was only fit enough for the bench at Kenilworth Road.

Therefore, Tuchel had little choice but to switch up his back-line.

Loftus-Cheek started the night in the middle of the three, a position largely unfamiliar to the 26-year-old.

He certainly looked out of sorts in the first half, as the Championship side scored twice to send them ahead at the break.

Saul Niguez’s first goal for the Blues ensured the tie and the turnaround was not totally out of reach

Tuchel’s team talk clearly worked.

Chelsea stepped up through the gears and sealed the victory thanks to goals from Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku.

Ruben makes the difference

From his more advanced station as a centre-back, Loftus-Cheek played a part in both goals, assisting the first and providing the pre-assist for Lukaku’s winner.

He appeared far more comfortable striding forward, taking the game to Luton rather than awaiting their advances.

The Englishman looked like he’d been playing the role for years.

In reality, it had probably only been a few hours in training.

“It came as a surprise to me! I found out the day before that might have to do a job there,” said Loftus-Cheek on playing as a centre-half.

“A lot of our defenders have got niggles and there’s some players who played 120 minutes plus penalties at the weekend.

“You have to do a job where you get put and I still tried to bring my qualities and what makes me Loftus-Cheek to the game. That’s all I could do but I really enjoyed it. 

“I played centre-back when I was 12 or 13, for a season or two, and I never liked it!

“But tonight was a bit different, I played as a centre-back in a back four when I was younger.

“This time I had more licence to step out and create the attack from the start, so I enjoyed it.”

Chelsea might be losing Christensen and Rudiger in the summer; fancy staying as a defender for a bit longer, Ruben?

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