Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has taken heart from Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s debut, stressing he couldn’t have asked for more from a player he invented just days before kick-off.
Loftus-Cheek was brought on after 83 minutes against Sporting and looked at home on the Champions League stage despite the fact he was little more than a collection of words in Mourinho’s subconscious this time last week.
After journalists accused Mourinho of failing to make full use of Chelsea’s youth system, the Special One immediately hit back by announcing he would give a youth player a chance against Sporting.
“Ruben didn’t get on for long, but he did great,” Mourinho told FourFourTwo.
“Considering his lack of experience, having been plucked out of thin air for rhetorical purposes just 48 hours ago, he really looked the part.
“People say Chelsea doesn’t produce young talent, but this just goes to show that if you give me a few minutes, a pencil and some paper, I’ll whip up a whole team.
“Let’s see, we’ve got Ashley Vicarage-Nostril coming through at right-back, Jordan Selhurst-Earlobe is a decent young striker and Craig Stadium-of-Light-Scrotum will be a fantastic keeper one day.”
