RLC discusses Chelsea inactivity after England U21s brace

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek: At the double for England U21s

Ruben Loftus-Cheek reflected with satisfaction after seizing a rare chance to shine by scoring twice in England Under-21s’ 4-0 friendly victory in Denmark.

The 21-year-old continues to struggle for game time at Chelsea and has made only four starts for Antonio Conte’s side this season.

But he showed no signs of rustiness in Randers with two well-taken strikes to help England Under-21s win for the first time since Aidy Boothroyd was appointed full-time manager.

Loftus-Cheek told BT Sport: “I really enjoyed it. I haven’t played much for my club so it is important for me to work hard and try to get my sharpness when I come away with England.”

Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring with a cool finish after 10 minutes and wrapped up victory with a powerful effort in the second half. Solly March and Cauley Woodrow also got on the scoresheet.

Boothroyd said: “He was excellent, he was terrific, but the only reason he was terrific was because he had 10 other players on the pitch that worked really hard for him and got him the ball.

“He made some really good decisions and overall I think it was a terrific performance. He has still got bits to do in certain aspects of his performance, but they all have. They are not end products yet.”

England were beaten in Germany last week but Boothroyd believes his side can prepare for the upcoming European Championship in Poland in good heart.

He said: “I think the whole trip has been a good experience, coming to Denmark and playing them at their home and Germany – two really good games for us.

“The teams got mixed up but I think today was a real plus. I thought the way we played was really good and I was really pleased with the manner we went about our work.

“Maybe (we) could have been a bit more clinical but we didn’t underestimate Denmark because they are in the European finals and are a good team. It makes it even more special to have got the result we did.

“There a few things we can pick out of the game that we can get better at but overall we are very pleased.”