Chelsea came back from 4-1 down to draw their Champions League clash vs Ajax 4-4 and youngster Reece James was a key performer during the game.
James came on during the second half to replace Marcos Alonso as Azpilicueta moved to left-back and the youngster was deployed on the right-hand side. And after the youngster’s entry into the game, the Blues looked more of a threat while attacking down the right flank.
Marcos Alonso was really poor during the first half and some of his mistakes could have dearly cost the home side. So Frank Lampard wasted no time in introducing Reece James into the match.
The full-back was not only a threat while putting in crosses into the box but he also managed to score the equaliser for Chelsea in the 74th minute.
And speaking after the match, the defender admitted that Ajax going down to nine men was a real confidence booster for the Stamford Bridge outfit on Tuesday.
James said: ‘It was a crazy game. They were hard to break down and we took advantage of them going down to nine men, it was a shame we couldn’t win. Scoring a goal is a bonus.
‘The manager told me to come on and liven the boys up, we had chances to win it but from where we were at half-time it’s a good result.’
After the match, everyone has come out to praise the contribution of Reece James during the match but Joe Cole has taken it one step further by claiming that the defender reminds him of Man United legend David Beckham.
19 – Reece James (19y, 332d) has become Chelsea's youngest ever goalscorer in Champions League history. Fightback. pic.twitter.com/xwxfKZZHPw
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 5, 2019
‘When I was playing in America [with Tampa Bay Rowdies], I came around to train with the kids [at Chelsea],’ Cole told BT Sport[as reported by The Metro].
‘We were having shooting session and the kids’ shooting was erratic, but James was on the money, whipping crosses, it was like watching Beckham.’
After this fine performance, it will be very hard to keep Reece James off the first XI while is somewhat of a headache for Lampard since Azpilicueta too has been performing more than decently at right-back.
But with James doing so well vs Ajax, the Chelsea captain could be shifted to left-back meaning both Marcos Alonso and Emerson will fall down the pecking order during the next few games.
