Tuchel praises Loftus-Cheek after he scores against Crystal Palace

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

scored the opener for his side in the second half of

’s clash against

in the FA Cup semi-finals. This was a great moment for him as

Thomas Tuchel

urged him to be more self-confidence right before the game.

Chelsea had domination for the most parts of the game against Palace and managed to find the target another time with the help of Mason Mount, who met the back of the net. Timo Werner provided the assist for the England international.

The victory has put the Blues in the final of the competition for the third year in a row, but they have not win in the last two. The Chelsea boss would like to change that.

Loftus-Cheek told ITV Sport of his struggles to find his form and how he stayed motivated.

“Way overdue [the goal]! It has been a tough road with injuries and going on loan to find my form again but I always believed in myself and I always wanted to play for Chelsea. I have played quite a lot this season, I am happy.

“I was just thinking hit it, I think it took a little deflection but I'll take it! I had to be ready to step in. It looked a bit slow in the first half so I just wanted to bring some energy.

“The reason I am still here is my mentality through all the injuries. I still believed in myself and I said for many years my time will come.

"We want to get them back, simple as that. It was a fantastic game in the League Cup final and could have gone either way.”

Tuchel then talked to ITV about how challenging playing in three different competitions was for his side.

“It was not easy because we played three games in three different competitions. It is not always easy, very challenging physically, we are the team with the most minutes in Europe I think, it is also challenging mentally.

“I thought the performance was very controlled and very serious, we took care of their counterattacks. It was hard, the opponent changed system twice, you cannot lose focus for a minute.”

He was then quizzed how important and big another final is for his side.

“We want to be in every competition and to be in a final at the end of the season is massive. It gives you this joy to have something waiting and right now, if it's not only the league, we have another final and it gives us a lot of confidence.”

The Blues manager also hailed Loftus-Cheek’s performance in the battles against Southampton and Real Madrid as well as Crystal Palace.

“He [Ruben Loftus-Cheek] was very, very strong in matches against Southampton and Real Madrid, he would have deserved to start but we expected a back four. We knew Ruben would have a big impact off the bench. I am very happy.

“He hid his talent and potential for a long time in his career. He is capable of producing performances that everyone sees on the pitch. For him it is step by step that he continues to grow in his confidence.”

When asked whether this was a big moment for the 26-year-old, he replied:

“Hopefully a big moment because it was a big moment. He's normally a clam and quiet guy, but to see him like this – jumping and celebrating – is good. As I've said, we need to install this confidence into his body and game and these are the next steps for him. He needs to feel how much influence he can have, show everybody in the stadium the potential he has and not just to us on the training pitches.”

Tuchel then went on to comment on Timo Werner’s performance.

“The players take care about their place in the team. We had a bit of a change in formation up front and he played alongside against Southampton with Kai, Mason and Kova around him. Maybe this was the turnaround point for him. He scored and had big chances in Madrid, could've been the hero but unfortunately not.

“It's very hard to find spaces today and be decisive but he assisted the second one. Also for Mason, it was impossible for him to have the influence he has but he stayed patient and waited and finished with a lot of composure."

Chelsea will lock horns with

on May 14 in the final of the competition.

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