
Ruben Loftus-Cheek fired a hat-trick for his first Chelsea goals in 30 months to seal the Blues' 3-1 Europa League win over BATE Borisov at Stamford Bridge.
England midfielder Loftus-Cheek is yet to start a Premier League match under new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, but handed the taskmaster Italian an acute reminder of his talents with a coolly-taken treble.
Chelsea hardly had to shift into third gear to chug past their misfiring visitors and cement top spot in Group L, Aleksei Rios' late header scant consolation for the Belarusians.
Loftus-Cheek pressed his Premier League claims though, with his first Chelsea goals since finding the net in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Aston Villa on April 2, 2016.
The 22-year-old's six-minute brace had Chelsea two goals to the good just eight minutes in - and everything after that proved facile in the extreme.
Loftus-Cheek will care not on BATE's ineptitude however, and can rightly cite this free-scoring turn in future chats with manager Sarri over polite requests for more league action.
Re-live all the action below:
83 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
That sort of goal won't do any of these Chelsea fringe players many favours.
Loftus-Cheek nearly gets himself a fourth goal after surging past the BATE defence. Scherbitski denies him from close range.
85 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
Replays show Maurizio Sarri shouting angrily on the touchline as that BATE goal went in. He certainly didn't look pleased.
87 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
BATE can be happy with the way they have acquitted themselves for parts of this second half. The introduction of Montenegro international Ivanic has definitely had an effect on the game. He looks a player.
90 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
Chelsea are playing keep ball now. It's been a comfortable night for the Blues.
90 + 1 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
We're into three minutes of added time.
90 + 2 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
There's a glimpse of what Hudson-Odoi can do in full flow. He drives into the BATE box, drags the ball onto his left foot and blazes over.
90 + 3 minutes: Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
The home fans can be heard chanting 'Sarrisimo!' around the ground. They seem to be enjoying this season.
Chelsea 3-1 BATE Borisov
Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be the man to make the headlines this evening. It was a memorable night for the midfielder, who walks away with the match ball after an impressive hat-trick.
His first goal came within two minutes of the start of the match, after he blasted home from a Davide Zappacosta cross.
He added a second after a clever finish from a corner, but his third goal was the pick of the bunch, as the 22-year-old guided the ball into the bottom corner from outside the area.
Maurizio Sarri won't be totally satisfied with his side, after they conceded a poor goal in the second-half, but all in all this was a comfortable win for the Blues.
They're now six points clear at the top of Group L and can look ahead to a Premier League tie at Burnley on Sunday.
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