Chelsea 3 BATE Borisov 1 : Victor Moses Subbed In As Loftus-Cheek Steals The Headlines With Hat-Trick

Published: October 25, 2018

Ruben Loftus-Cheek popped up with a hat-trick for Chelsea as they defeated Bate Borisov 3-1 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

The Blues have taken a giant step towards a place in the last 32 with victory tonight.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri made eight changes to the side that rescued a late 2-2 draw against Manchester United, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Mateo Kovacic and Willian the three players retaining their places in the side.

There was no Eden Hazard tonight for the home side, while Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso were the other notable absentees from the matchday squad.

Victor Moses who faces an uncertain future at the London based side started from the bench.

It didn't take too long for Chelsea to race in front. Davide Zappacosta pulled the ball back towards the penalty spot, where Loftus-Cheek was waiting to bury the ball past Denis Scherbitsky in the third minute.

It was perfect start for Chelsea thanks to Loftus-Cheek's strike - his first shot on target for the Blues this term in his fourth appearance.

The rampaging Blues were two goals up in the 8th minute of action. It looked as though Olivier Giroud had scored his first club goal of the season, but replays showed that it was actually Loftus-Cheek who got the final touch to Willian's corner.

Loftus-Cheek got his hat-trick in the 54th minute. Moses came into the fray shortly after for Willian.

The Belarus giants reduced the deficit thanks to Aleksey Rios, who scored 11 minutes from time.

Chelsea Starting XI: Kepa; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Fabregas, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek; Willian, Pedro, Giroud

Substitutes : Caballero, Rudiger, Moses, Kante, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Morata

BATE Borisov Starting XI: Scherbitski; Rios, Filipovic, Filipenko, Volodko; Baga, Dragun, Hleb; Skavysh, Signevich, Stasevich

Substitutes : Chichkan, Yablonski, Berezkin, Ivanic, Volkov, Tuominen, Moukam

Abayomi Ademetan

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com