The midfielder stole the show at Stamford Bridge as we defeated BATE Borisov 3-1 in the Europa League group stage to make it three wins from three and effectively seal our place in the knockouts. Chelsea would go on to win the tournament with victory over Arsenal in Baku.

Against the Belarussian side BATE, it took Loftus-Cheek just 105 seconds to open the scoring, confidently sweeping home Davide Zappacosta’s cross.

Six minutes later, Loftus-Cheek doubled his and our tally, cleverly flicking in a corner from Willian.

The midfielder, who often played in a more advanced role under Maurizio Sarri, completed his hat-trick in the second half, bending in a shot from outside the box in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. Denis Scherbitski in the BATE goal didn’t cover himself in glory trying to keep the effort out.

A late consolation from the visitors could not prevent it being Loftus-Cheek’s day, with the 22-year-old taking home the matchball for the one and only time in his senior career. It came during his profitable season in front of goal, with ten of his 13 Blues efforts netted in 2018/19. This treble against BATE was the undoubted highlight.