Ruben Loftus-Cheek shines again as Chelsea edge Malmö

There was always likely to be victims of depth in Chelsea's burgeoning squad this season, and an underwhelming loan at Fulham last season coupled with niggling injuries suggested Ruben Loftus-Cheek would be one of them.

However, knocks to N'Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovacic and Saul Niguez's tough adaptation to English football opened the door for the 25-year-old, and he has seized the opportunity.

But while he impressed in starts against Southampton and Brentford and various cameos elsewhere, Loftus-Cheek's resurgence reached new heights in the Champions League group stage clash with Malmö on Tuesday night.

The England international dominated the midfield in southern Sweden, acting as a link between defence and attack and playing the role of Chelsea's most creative outlet.

Of course it's important not to get ahead of ourselves given the opposition and - although it may seem harsh - the false dawns we have seen from the midfielder in the past. That's not to say this was a walk in the park, though, with Chelsea labouring to a 1-0 win over the stubborn Swedish champions in a partisan atmosphere.

Loftus-Cheek was at the heart of everything good the Blues did, bar the winning goal.

In the first half, his rediscovered confidence was plain for all to see as he chapeau''d an opposition midfielder and sprayed a pass to Hakim Ziyech on the half-volley. Those trademark marauding runs were the bright spark in an otherwise uninspired 45 minutes for the visitors, and he would have been frustrated to see Kai Havertz spurn a one-on-one opportunity after he slipped the German through at the end of one of those forays forward.

The midfielder seemed determined to haul Chelsea to victory almost single-handedly in the second period, engineering a shooting opportunity all on his own with brute strength and fine footwork, selling two defenders a Cruyff turn before seeing his shot blocked by the goalkeeper.

Even after Ziyech had finally given the Blues the lead, Loftus-Cheek remained on the front foot. Havertz's wastefulness cost him a second assist after he used his body expertly to roll a defender before scooping a pass into the Germany international to race through on goal.

Havertz was once again ponderous, and his shot was once again smothered by Johan Dahlin.

Loftus-Cheek's cut and thrust, all-action style does lead to more ball losses than you'll see from Kovacic, Kante or, of course, Jorginho - something Thomas Tuchel will be keen to iron out of his game. Indeed, he lost possession in both halves, leading to half-chances for the hosts.

At the other end, both the player and his manager will be keen so see an improved goal return - something he is capable of.

But, for now, the trade off is worthwhile.

With the combination of his physicality, ball-carrying ability and footwork, Loftus-Cheek offers Tuchel something that none of his other midfielders can. If he can continue to take these mini steps forward in his performance levels, he could become far more crucial to Chelsea than many would have predicted at the start of the season.

For more from Krishan Davis, follow him on Twitter!