“Very quiet guy”- Tuchel breaks silence on Ruben Loftus-Cheek goal celebration in FA Cup win
Thomas Tuchel is overjoyed for Ruben Loftus-Cheek after his goal helped Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in the FA Cup semi-finals.
The midfielder broke the deadlock on the night, wreaking havoc on the opponents’ tenacious defense, which had been causing them problems throughout the game.
Loftus-Cheek has always faced challenges in his career, which have prevented him from reaching the heights that many anticipated him to after being promoted to the senior team set-up.
Throughout these years, injuries have frequently slowed his progress and halted his shape.
The stiff competition hasn’t helped, either, although he’s improved in recent weeks. Around the 65th minute, Loftus-Cheek was on hand to send the ball crashing into the roof of the net.
The volley took a deflection, but it was expertly struck, and the Englishman did well to put himself in that position.
Tuchel expressed hope in the post-match press conference (h/t Chelsea official website) that the key goal against Palace will help the Englishman gain confidence moving ahead.
The manager stated that the central midfielder must believe in himself in order to perform at his best, which he hopes to see more often from now on.
“Hopefully it’s a big moment for him,” Tuchel said
“He’s normally a very calm, very quiet guy but we saw him jumping and celebrating the goal and that is good because he’s the opposite of over-confident.
“You need to instil this confidence into his body and into his game and these are the next steps for him, that he can absolutely feel how much influence he can have, and that he shows everybody in the stadium his potential, and not only to us on the training ground.”
This season, the 26-year-old has appeared in 32 games, scoring once and assisting on four others.
Under the current circumstances, the midfielder’s goal against the Eagles would undoubtedly be a huge lift for him. After all, he had already impressed against Real Madrid and Southampton prior to the FA Cup semi-finals.
While the Premier League star was not involved in either goal, his presence was felt in both games.
Perhaps this strong run of form will help him secure a starting berth under the Blues’ management. When others, such as N’Golo Kante, have struggled to perform well this year, it is surely a possibility.
Loftus-Cheek would need to retain his present form as well as his complete fitness moving forward.
After all, competition remains fierce, and it may become even more so with the arrival of Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour this summer.
ALSO READ:
- Manchester United have one thing Real Madrid can’t offer Harry Kane
- Latest Chelsea transfer news: Mauricio Pochettino first Chelsea signing confirmed as Real Madrid contact Kai Havertz
- Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool: Medical, shirt number, wages and everything we know
- Tottenham agree contract with Ange Postecoglou to make him their new manager
- Chelsea decide ‘top two transfer targets’ after scrapping Manuel Ugarte deal
- Man Utd ‘make £50m Mason Mount bid as they push for England double-transfer with Harry Kane’
- Bruno Fernandes says £21m midfielder Arteta wants at Arsenal is simply ‘amazing’
“Very quiet guy”- Tuchel breaks silence on Ruben Loftus-Cheek goal celebration in FA Cup win
