“I’ve got stuff to prove” – Chelsea loan star Chilwell wants to show Palace his world-class level

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace’s Ben Chilwell started his first game for nearly a year on Saturday as he played all 90 minutes in their 3-1 FA Cup fifth round win against Millwall at Selhurst Park.

The defender moved to South London in February on loan from parent club Chelsea until the end of the season, and after three appearances from the bench, finally got a full 90 minutes for the first time since he played for England last March.

“It’s great to be out there, great to be back. I felt fit, felt good,” said the Champions League winner after the victory.

“I knew this day was going to come and it was down to me to make sure that I was ready whenever it was going to come. I’ve gone into Chelsea the past six months (before moving to Palace) and trained hard every day, waiting for the opportunity. I’ve been doing it for myself – training every day. Some days, I’ve been training by myself in Chelsea.

“You just keep the mindset that the day-to-day is going to come. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You’ve just got to put the work in. You know your chance is going to come, and that the only person that’s going to miss out if you’re not ready is yourself. You’re only killing yourself if you’re not ready. I just had to make sure that I was ready and today was the day that it came.”

Despite all the training and preparation, Chilwell revealed that he was still nervous ahead of the game.

“You can train as hard as you want every day, do big training sessions and try and get as much out of it as you can, but there’s nothing like playing a match,” said the former Leicester player.

“Coming into the game, my first start, you’ve always wondered how it’s going to go, if you are going to be as sharp as you would like to imagine you are, how you’re going to feel. It was just good, so good to get 90 minutes. I felt great the whole game.

“I got into a few good attacking positions. A few of the chances I got today, if they had been in a few weeks’ time, I would have buried them, but that’s just trying to get up to match fitness.

“The fact that I’m getting in the positions – even in the 90th minute today I was trying to run it behind them and get crosses in – I was feeling good, my body felt great. But I’ve not played for a year, so I’m still, definitely, 100%, getting up to match fitness. There’s still a lot more to come.”

Chilwell revealed that prior to signing for the Eagles, he had discussed with manager Oliver Glasner the playing style he wanted to see and what he wanted to see from the player.

And with a start now under his belt, Chilwell is looking to remind the football world just what he can offer and help the SE25 side achieve success.

“I knew a lot of the boys (at Palace), so I was excited to come in, excited to get back to playing football, and playing football at a great club with a lot of very talented players and a great manager,” he added.

“I spoke to the manager before I came, and the way that he wants to play football is the way that I want to play football, we’re very aligned. Today you could see I was trying to get in a lot of positive attacking positions, which is what he wants me to do. It suits me perfectly.

“I want to do well and get back to showing everyone that I’m a top, world class left back or left wing-back, whatever you want to call it. I feel like I’ve got stuff to prove.

“When you’re out of the game for a few months, you feel like people forget about you. My ego – everyone has an ego in football and I’m not going to shy away from it – is that I want to show everyone that I am as good as what I was when I won the Champions League.

“I want to come in and help the team. It’s an ambitious team that wants to do well – wants to push up the league and wants to win trophies this season. I’m really enjoying it so far.”

PICTURE: ALAMY