Ruben Loftus-Cheek has sent Liverpool an early warning ahead of the FA Cup final as Chelsea waltz away 2-0 victors over Crystal Palace. The 26-year-old fired the Blues ahead just after the hour mark with a fantastic effort from inside the penalty area.
Mason Mount then doubled the west London side's lead 11 minutes later, scoring in three successive games for the first time in his career. Loftus-Cheek, who began the tie on the bench despite glowing displays against Southampton and Real Madrid in the week, replaced Mateo Kovacic in the first-half after the Croatia international picked up an ankle injury which forced him to depart.
Thomas Tuchel's decision to bring the Cobham graduate on instead of N'Golo Kante paid off, with the Loftus-Cheek continuing his great vein of form. The England international detailed his performance before firing a warning to Liverpool, who Chelsea will face in the final on May 14.
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Speaking on ITV after the game, Loftus-Cheek said: "It’s been a tough road with injuries and going out on loan to find my form again. I always believed in myself and I’ve played quite a lot this season. I’m happy."
"Everyone wants to play and I feel like I’ve done well the last couple of games," he added, addressing his omission from the starting eleven. "The strength in depth in this squad is fantastic. I have to be ready to step in and it looked a bit slow so I just wanted to bring some energy."
Loftus-Cheek concluded with his message to Liverpool, who beat Manchester City on Saturday. He said: "It’s always been my mentality. I keep going and still believe in myself. I’ve said it for many years that my time will come. We want to get them back. As simple as that. We look forward to that and getting our revenge."
Tuchel labeled Loftus-Cheek's performance as 'excellent' and revelled in the midfielder's resurgence in a Chelsea shirt. He said:" Excellent. He was very strong against Southampton and Madrid, he would have deserved to start. But we expected back four and a more classic wing-back position, so we knew we have Ruben and he has a big impact off the bench."
