Jose Mourinho praised Ruben Loftus-Cheek after his full debut for Chelsea – and insisted there was more to come from the teenager and the club’s other youngsters.
Loftus-Cheek, 19, produced a tidy display in midfield in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool – he did not give the ball away once before being substituted to a standing ovation from the home fans on the hour mark.
And Blues boss Mourinho said: “I think he did well, but I also think it is better for him to play 60 minutes and play in good condition than to stay on and probably find it difficult to cope with the speed of the game.
“It was better for him to have that fantastic experience and feel the intensity, the speed and the way he has to think, and I’m happy.
“He is going to be a Chelsea player, there’s no doubt. And we have other kids that can do it too.”
Chelsea, with the Premier League title already secured, made the perfect start at Stamford Bridge, where skipper John Terry headed them into an early lead.
But Liverpool hit back through Steven Gerrard’s equaliser and continued to cause the champions problems in the second half.
“After winning the championship and celebrating it’s normal that your intensity is a bit down,” Mourinho said.
“We played to our limits for many weeks trying to reach the title as soon as possible and I knew today would be difficult for some players.
“Ruben, Filipe Luis, Mikel and Remy have not been playing a lot and others are playing too much, so it was also difficult to keep the intensity for 90 minutes. But we gave a game and did what we had to do.”
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This post was last modified on 10/05/2015