Ruben Loftus-Cheek has declared Chelsea are fired up to get their own back at Liverpool after progressing to the FA Cup final with victory over Crystal Palace.
The midfielder, 26, scored the decisive goal in a 2-0 victory over the Eagles on Sunday afternoon to set up a Wembley Stadium showdown with the Reds, who defeated Manchester City 3-2 in the other semi-final one day earlier. This means Chelsea and Liverpool will face off in a second cup final this season after meeting in the Carabao Cup in February.
The Blues were on the losing side that day after a tense penalty shootout in which goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga fired his spot-kick over the bar. Loftus-Cheek has no doubt Chelsea's heartbreak that day will give them added motivation to defeat Liverpool in May's FA Cup final.
"We saw it yesterday, we want to get them back, simple as that," Loftus-Cheek told ITV of Liverpool. "I felt it was a fantastic game last time in the [Carabao Cup] final. It could have gone either way. We look forward to that and look forward to getting our revenge." Loftus-Cheek came off the bench to put Chelsea ahead against Palace with a fine volley in the 65th minute but admitted he was disappointed not to start the match.
"Everyone wants to play, I feel I've done well in the last few games and wanted to keep the momentum," the former England international said. "But the strength in depth in this squad is fantastic, and I have to be ready. Kova (Mateo Kovacic) is feeling his ankle, I have to be ready to step in. It looked a bit slow in the first half so I wanted to bring some energy. We brought that, and won it comfortably."
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Mason Mount doubled Chelsea's lead 11 minutes after Loftus-Cheek's opening goal and the latter received lavish praise from manager Thomas Tuchel after the match. "Excellent, he was very very strong in the matches against Southampton and Real Madrid," the German said of the Chelsea academy graduate. "He would have deserved to start but honestly we expected a back four and wanted (Cesar) Azpilicueta as a captain on the field.
"We knew we have Ruben to make a big impact from the bench and I'm very happy with him at the moment." Tuchel could not hide his delight at reaching yet another final with the Blues, adding: "I am happy to be part of it again. I cannot be more excited or proud. It's a huge competition, to play a final again at Wembley, I'm grateful and we will be ready."
