Loftus-Cheek praised after Chelsea debut

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Jose Mourinho praised Ruben Loftus-Cheek after the teenage midfielder made his senior debut for Chelsea in the Champions League win against Sporting Lisbon.

The 18-year-old came on for the final 10 minutes at Stamford Bridge, where Mourinho’s side rounded off their Group G campaign with a 3-1 victory.

“Ruben had very good personality, was very positive, not afraid to play, not afraid to have the ball,” said the Blues boss.

“There was low level of responsibility because we were already qualified and the score was 3-1, but he showed immediately the quality that he has and everyone in the stadium got the feeling we have a kid with talent.

“He has to keep working hard and hopefully the people around him don’t disturb the work we are doing with him.”

Having sealed their place in the knockout stage as group winners with a game to spare, Chelsea have been in awesome form both in the Premier League and Europe.

But Mourinho added: “The real Champions League starts now.

“Last season we were not one of the top four teams for sure but we played in the semi-final. Let’s see what we can do this season step by step.”

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