Ruben Loftus-Cheek nets three goals in Chelsea win over BATE Borisov

Updated: May 17, 2024, 12:27 am

Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates after scoring in Chelsea's Europa League match against BATE.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates after scoring in Chelsea's Europa League match against BATE.
Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images

Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored three goals as Chelsea dispatched BATE Borisov 3-1 in Europa League action on Thursday. 

For Loftus-Cheek, his stellar showing at Stamford Bridge signified his first goals in European competition. The hat trick was the first in Europe for the Blues since Didier Drogba did so in a 2006 Champions League match. 

Loftus-Cheek's first score on the night against the Belarusian side occurred just two minutes into the match, when he pounced on Davide Zappacosta's cross from the right flank. The second score happened six minutes later, with the England international barely beating teammate Olivier Giroud for a close-range tap-in in front of the net. 

Loftus-Cheek's triple-feat was sealed in the 53rd minute with a brillant shot into the bottom-left corner of Denis Shcherbitski's net. 

With a victory seemingly assured, Chelsea let off the gas pedal and allowed BATE to create some chances in the later stages of the match.  BATE took one back in the 79th minute off a set-piece cross from Igor Stasevich, which was put into the net by Aleksey Rios.

Chelsea now have a commanding lead in Group L, with nine points after three fixtures. The rest of the group's sides -- PAOK Salonika,Vidi and BATE -- have three points apiece.