Chelsea ace Ruben Loftus-Cheek matches Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard’s feat with incredible BATE Borisov hat-trick
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CHELSEA ace Ruben Loftus-Cheek hit a superb Europa League hat-trick in Chelsea’s convincing victory over Bate Borisov – ensuring his name is etched alongside an illustrious group of players.
England starlet Loftus-Cheek’s classy treble in the 3-1 success was the 147th hat-trick in Chelsea’s history, scored by the 70th different player.
Loftus-Cheek also became the first English player for the Blues to score three in a European match since Peter Osgood and Tommy Baldwin in September 1971 — 25 years before he was born!
Incredibly, the 22-year-old is just the second-ever English midfielder to achieve the feat in a single Europa League tie – with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard the only other to have done so.
Gerrard also produced his hat-trick in a 3-1 win - over Napoli at Anfield in November 2010 - scoring all three in a 14-minute burst late on.
Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, bagged twice early on against Bate last night before adding his third eight minutes after the interval.
The ex-Crystal Palace loanee is the 51st player to have bagged three goals in a single Europa League tie, joining the likes of Premier duo Harry Kane and Jermain Defoe in achieving the feat.
Ex-Manchester United duo Radamel Falcao and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have also netted hat-tricks in the competition, as well as Spain legend David Villa.
The midfield powerhouse, who was only starting his second game of the season, is already licking his lips at the prospect of his next one.
He said: “Any player will tell you it’s always nice to score a hat-trick and it feels good.
"I’ll get this [the match ball] signed and framed in a glass box and hopefully there are many more to come.
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“You don’t think about it before the game or on the day but I ended up scoring early, and then again, so I was thinking about a first-half hat-trick.
“I kept getting in the box and one fell on the edge of the box in the second half so I just caressed it in and the keeper touched it onto the post.”
Loftus-Cheek has not been a regular under new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri this season, who says he must improve in the ‘defensive phase’ to become a first-team regular.
He added: “He was just telling me what I need to be doing defensively and with my positioning, which is good for me because I need to keep learning.
“When he’s talking to me on the pitch I can understand it more because I can see it, I’m in it, so in that way my development is easier, so I have to say thank you to him for helping me.
“The manager demands a lot defensively so it’s up to me to work as hard as I can to get it and do what he wants.
“I think the more I play the more it will come, and the more I get it, the more opportunities I will get.
“The first thing in my head is to keep training well to keep my fitness up and keep sharp for when times like this come, when I get an opportunity to start or come on.
"If I keep doing that then good things will come.”
Loftus-Cheek will be hoping to feature from the off when the Blues travel to Sean Dyche’s Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
