Speaking after the victory against Burnley (h/t Chelsea official site), Chelsea star Reece James gave an honest assessment of the game. The 22-year-old opened the scoring against the Clarets on the day and bagged his first goal since returning to the squad after being on the sidelines for a long period due to injury.
The English wing-back was absent for a long time and the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta were filling in during his absence. Whilst the Spaniard filled in capably on several instances at 32, the Spaniard doesn’t have the same kind of pace and youthful energy in comparison to James.
Chelsea have been without their first-choice wing-backs for quite a while now. Whilst the 22-year-old English wing-back is now back in action for the Blues, Ben Chilwell is set to miss the entirety of the campaign after sustaining an ACL injury in their UEFA Champions League fixture against Juventus earlier in the season.
Addressing the victory, James spoke about the performance against Burnley. He praised the Clarets for their structure and also highlighted the importance of getting the first goal.
‘It was a very enjoyable win, coming away from home and winning 4-0, but the scoreline doesn’t reflect the game. ‘That was a very tough first half. Burnley set up very well and made it difficult to play. Sometimes in games like this, you need the one goal to break the deadlock and then everyone settles, and today we got that.’
The Blues were sorely missing the technical prowess and attacking threat of their young English full-back. It didn’t take a long time for the 22-year-old to make his impact as the West Londoners ran riot against Burnley. The defending UEFA Champions League winners lost out to bitter rivals Liverpool in the finals of the EFL Cup recently.
Despite that setback, the club have come back well and the exceptional performance against the Turf Moor outfit could give them some much-required momentum heading into the business end of the season. The Stamford Bridge outfit still have a lot to play for and the availability of Reece James will certainly be a big boost.
The young English wing-back is having one of his best seasons so far. He has already bagged six goals and clocked seven assists in 26 matches across all competition for Chelsea this campaign. There is a lot of uncertainty revolving around the club, due to the departure of owner Roman Abramovich at the moment.
A good result could therefore help ease some of the nerves of the players as well as the fanbase. The West Londoners would be happy with the return of Reece James and his impact was almost instantly felt against the Clarets. Chelsea takes on Norwich City and Newcastle United in the Premier League on 11th and 13th March respectively.
The English wing-back could use these fixtures as an opportunity to get ready for the pivotal UCL second leg tie against LOSC Lille on 17th March. The Chelsea faithful will be hoping that James will be able to continue his stellar form and get his hands on some more silverware with the club before the season ends.
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