Millwall winger Jed Wallace praised Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s second-half display for Chelsea against Watford last night.
Speaking on the BBC after the Blues narrowly edged past their hosts 2-1 at Vicarage Road, Wallace highlighted Loftus-Cheek as the catalyst for the away side’s victory.
The 25-year-old started a successive Premier League game for just the second time this season yesterday.
After a shaky opening 45 minutes – he was certainly not the only one – Thomas Tuchel decided to drop the midfielder into a slightly more defensive position to absorb Watford’s threat.
That switch, along with the introduction of Thiago Silva at the break, gave Chelsea the foundations to press ahead for the win.
Ruben’s reward
Hakim Ziyech’s first league goal of the campaign sealed all three points for the Champions League holders, but it was Tuchel’s tactical tweaks that ensured the triumph.
“I think a big influence in the second half was Loftus-Cheek dropping deeper,” said Wallace, who has 19 times in the Championship for Millwall this term.
“He made a mistake for Watford’s goal. He got robbed on the halfway line by a very impressive (Moussa) Sissoko.
“But, all credit to Loftus-Cheek, he’s been out for a long time with injury, his confidence might’ve dropped but he did the complete opposite.
“He rolled his sleeves up and I thought in that second half he was magnificent.
“I thought that was a huge turning point in the game, with Loftus-Cheek actually winning the midfield battle against Sissoko and (Tom) Cleverly.”
Blues beat Watford, just
It looked like it was going to be a long evening for Loftus-Cheek when he gave the ball away for Watford’s equaliser.
His central midfielder partnership with Saul Niguez left a lot to be desired.
Tuchel recognised the pairing were simply not adding up, so switched Saul for Silva at the interval.
The experienced Brazilian brought calm to Chelsea’s often nervous approach, an effect that clearly washed over Loftus-Cheek as well.
He appeared far more comfortable stationed slightly closer toward his own goal.
Although the Blues’ overall performance was far from reassuring, they got the job done, a sign of a true champion.
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