Loftus-Cheek staked his claim with two goals inside eight minutes

The summer arrivals of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho combined with the re-birth of Ross Barkley have significantly limited the powerful midfielder's opportunities in the Chelsea engine room, but he certainly grabbed his chance with both hands on Thursday night.

The former Crystal Palace loanee opened the scoring with just two minutes on the clock, powerfully lashing Pedro's low cross into the far corner in trademark fashion.

That was his first goal for Chelsea since April 2016 and his first ever in European competition, but he didn't have to wait long for his second as he doubled his and Chelsea's tally just six minutes later.

Whilst the first goal was down to Loftus-Cheek's movement and technical ability, the second was down to pure brute strength as he held off the close attentions of an opposition defender as Willian swung in a corner from the right.

By the time the ball arrived both Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud were fighting to turn it home, but it was the former who got there first to flick a deft first-time finish into the far corner.