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00:00 Ciao Rosaneri fans, I'm Ruben Loftus-Cheek. I'll be in the first episode of Gameplay. Let's go!
00:07 Ruben, your role is universally known as box-to-box midfielder, but how would you describe your responsibilities?
00:23 I think I would describe it as that as well. I've managed to play a few positions in my career, so I'm very comfortable in any position.
00:34 If I find myself anywhere on the pitch, I'm comfortable. But growing up, I tend to be a box-to-box midfielder and that's where I enjoy it the most.
00:45 What do you consider your most important characteristic on the pitch?
00:50 I think my physicality. I'm a big boy and I'm strong and I'm quick and I'm powerful. So when I can use that combined with my technical ability, I can have a big effect on the game.
01:05 You've played in many positions in your professional career. Defence, obviously midfield, also up front. But what was your first position when you began?
01:13 It was a midfielder, number eight, box-to-box, getting up and down. From then on, I moved about, whether it be in defence or strike or even on the wings. I've covered it all.
01:32 Would you like to play in goal one day, like Olivier Giroud?
01:35 Maybe, who knows? We'll see if I can tick that one off. But also, the only position I haven't played is left back. So that's the one I'm missing.
01:54 We're going to compare now the touch map from two matches. The first is against Torino, which was your first home game. And the second was against Roma in mid-January.
02:06 In the second match against Roma, we noticed that you had a lot more freedom. Was this a tactical decision by the manager?
02:14 Yes, I had slightly different roles comparing these two games. Versus Torino, I think I was more like an eight on the right of a three in midfield.
02:26 And against Roma, I was predominantly central, just behind the striker. So, slightly different roles tactically. You can see most of my touches are on the right side of the pitch against Torino.
02:43 And against Roma, it's very scattered, left and right. So, yes, different roles.
02:49 Your touch map for the first half of this season shows that you covered every blade of grass. Do you take pride in being a player who is influential all over the pitch?
02:59 Yes, I think that's what I can bring to the game. Especially in midfield, I think you need to be able to defend and attack and be able to have that knowledge of defence when you're in the defensive phase.
03:16 And also being creative when you're going forward. And sometimes, you know, you get pulled about, whether it be defensively and attacking-wise, you want to make runs, get the ball in different positions to try and hurt the opposition.
03:33 Like I said, I'm comfortable anywhere on the pitch. So, wherever I can be most effective, I try to find that position on the pitch.
03:41 Your physicality is incredible and you win a high percentage of your duels. How important do you think it is to win 50/50s and tackles in Serie A?
03:51 Yes, well, not just in Serie A. Any football game, any league, there's 50/50s, there's a physical battle that, especially in midfield, you want to win. And with my characteristics, my strength, my physicality, that's one thing I want to bring to the game whenever those duels come up to try and win them as much as possible.
04:18 And I think that has a big effect on whether you win the game or not.
04:22 However, we know that you're not just a physical player. Your distribution is excellent, especially key passes and through balls. In these games we've selected, your passing accuracy in the final third was 100%. How does it feel to be perfect?
04:39 No, far from perfect. But, no, when you're in the attacking third, precision is quite important. Sometimes it's very difficult to, firstly, to make the right pass, the right decision, but also execute it.
04:57 And that comes down to wherever you are on the pitch. You have to make a decision whether you want to make a risky pass or a safe pass. And in the final third, I think it's important to make the right decision to try and see if you can create an opportunity. And if not, just keep the ball.
05:17 Sometimes I think not having 100% pass accuracy in the final third is okay because you're trying stuff. But if it ends up 100%, then take that.
05:30 Do you like to take risks with your passes?
05:33 I think it's one of the points I want to improve on. Generally, I like to run with the ball in the final third, dribble with it. But I think I can start to look for passes that can end up in a goal scoring opportunity. So, that's one thing I want to improve on.
05:52 What do you do to work on your weaknesses?
05:55 We're on the training ground every day. Nowadays, with the technology we have to look back on our games, look back on our clips, sit down with a coach and go through your games and what they feel you need to improve on and what you feel you need to improve on. You can always look at that from a video perspective. But also, you're on the training pitch every day to try and improve. So, those two aspects come together quite nicely.
06:24 Your first assist for Milan was to Christian Pulisic against Torino. Did you see Christian with your peripheral vision? Did you notice that he was moving into space or did you just pass it towards the penalty spot?
06:41 No, at the time I didn't see him. But I always say this is what Oli is great at. He's so unselfish with his runs that he's gone to the first post and I've just pulled it back into an area where it's dangerous. Christian was great to arrive there after giving me the pass there. He's not stopped. He's got in the box to try and score.
07:09 So, yes, it was a great goal that goal.
07:13 You know Christian Pulisic, of course, from your time together at Chelsea. Would you say that you already had a good understanding with him?
07:21 Yes, definitely. After playing so long with Christian, I know what he likes to do and I know where he likes the ball. We have a good connection. Especially, you know, predominantly at the start of the season we're both on the right side. It's a joy to play with him. I think you can see it in some of the clips this season that we have a good connection and we're dangerous down that right side.
07:46 You connected with another of your ex-Chelsea team-mates, Olivier Giroud, against Roma when you won a penalty. You burst into space brilliantly before being fouled. Is it part of your role to exploit spaces?
08:00 Yes, definitely. I love playing with Olivier because he's such a good player to work with in terms of he likes to come deep and be kind of a target man. He's great to play bounce passes off of like that and run in the space. When he comes deep, it's my job to see where the space is and go in behind or play one-twos like this and exploit the space that's been made.
08:28 This was one of these occasions where he's come deep and I've seen the space. I didn't necessarily know he was going to do a bounce pass but I just wanted to make a run into that free space for another part of the play. It came straight back and I was in on goal.
08:45 You called for the ball twice before scoring against Cagliari. Did you already have the intention to shoot before the ball came? In general, do you like shooting from outside the area?
08:56 Yes, I already had in my head that I was going to shoot as soon as the ball came. When I was making my way up the pitch, I was calling for the ball and if Christian saw me, I was going to take a touch and shoot because I had the space around me. I like shooting from outside the box.
09:17 I had an injury quite a few years ago which stopped me from shooting with my lace. I had a lot of pain in my ankle and it's only now for the last year that it's eased up. It was there for a long time and now I'm enjoying shooting with my lace again. I'll definitely be shooting from outside the box some more if I get the opportunity.
09:44 The fans voted you MVP for that game. Did the goal and your performance make you begin to really feel at home in Serie A?
09:52 Yes, to be honest, even the first couple of games, the fans in the stadium made me feel so at home. The players, the coaching staff and all throughout the pre-season, I felt welcomed and I was ready to go and ready to start playing. The fans have been great.
10:15 From then on, we had a good start to the season. It's been a good first six months in Serie A.
10:24 Your next goals came when you joined the attack in the penalty area, causing problems for the defence and hoping to make an impact. Did Mr Pioli ask you to get involved in the attack or was it just something you do instinctively?
10:36 Yes, in this particular game I was playing quite close to Oli in a high position and I actually found myself in high positions, even higher than Oli at times. When Rafa got the ball, nine times out of ten he's going to beat the defender and it's my job to get in the box and be a target for him to pick out.
11:03 He pulled it back and I just had to keep my composure and pick a spot and thankfully it went in.
11:10 These away games are important, just as important as the home games and sometimes can be even more difficult. So to score in these games is a pleasure and to help the team as much as I can.
11:23 This goal was pretty similar to the last one, just getting in the box and Oli, unselfishly, left it for me to put away.
11:33 It's just about getting in the box whenever you smell or feel something is going to happen down on the wing or down either side. You've got to feel when the right time is to get in the box and where to go. If you want to go to the back post or stay back for the pull back, just to find space in the box where you can get a shot off.
11:56 These two are pretty similar, having gone too far into the box, just creating enough space for the pull back to shoot.
12:06 Is there a meaning behind that celebration where you put your hand down?
12:09 It's quite popular in basketball when a larger guy or taller guy dunks on a smaller guy. It's like they're a bit too small. So yeah, that was the meaning behind the celebration.
12:32 You were MVP against PSG at San Siro, dominating all the statistics. Do you think that was your best performance in the Milan shirt? And also, considering the opposition, was it one of your best performances ever?
12:46 Yeah, this was a really good performance. I think the only thing I was missing was a goal in this performance. It was a big game for us at the time in the Champions League. Playing against PSG, that's the games you want to play in. They're big games, Champions League against teams like this.
13:10 I love playing in them. When you get the opportunity, I just want to take it and have fun, enjoy the football and try and win. That was one of those days where you feel good and you're in the right mental space and things just happen instinctively. You're in this state where everything feels easy.
13:35 Can you tell us something about how these statistics make you feel?
13:40 Yeah, that was a big one there. Ball carry distance. Is this just for PSG?
13:45 That's just against PSG.
13:47 I had a lot of dribbles where I carried the ball quite far up the pitch. A lot of them were on transition. When we're defending in our half and the ball drops to me or finds its way to me, I can use my pace and power to take the ball up the pitch as much as possible.
14:10 That was one of those games where it fell to me a few times and I had the confidence to just take the ball and even to beat a man or find a pass. It was a good game for me. Like I said, the only thing that was missing was a goal.
14:30 That showing against PSG was magnificent. But tell us, Ruben, is there even better still to come?
14:36 Definitely, I think so. I'd like to think so. I had a bit of a dip physically after my injury, but now I feel like I'm getting back to full fitness and the team's playing well now. I can't wait for more games and to improve my performances as they come. I'm sure I'll have even better performances than that one.
15:04 You scored three times away from home. Isn't it time to score at San Siro?
15:09 Yeah, I've been saying that to myself. I hope I can score in the San Siro soon because the atmosphere will definitely be better after I score in the San Siro than these away games.
15:23 What was it like to score in San Siro?
15:27 How did it feel to score in San Siro?
15:37 I was waiting for the first one in San Siro after scoring away a few times. It was magical, the feeling in front of the fans. And then to get another one, it was amazing.
15:53 [Music]
16:07 (gunshot)