Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for Reece James, who put in a masterful performance to down Burnley in the Premier League.
Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea off the pitch, they provided the perfect response on it, securing an emphatic 4-0 win against Burnley. The Blues are embroiled in political turmoil due to Roman Abramovich’s ownership following the problems between Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Europe, and the win would come as a reprieve to many Blues fans.
With the club already put up for sale, fans are wondering what the future holds. However, with a strong team and a magnificent coach at the helm, Chelsea supporters can certainly keep faith in a group that is ready to challenge for the big trophies in the coming years.
The Blues showed that they mean business, despite the off-field distractions, as they thrashed Burnley 4-0 at Turf Moor. Reece James put in a masterful performance on his first start after returning from injury, which saw him miss a crucial period of Chelsea’s season.
During his absence, Chelsea struggled to put up quality performances, given that the England international is one of their main creative outlets. Thomas Tuchel admitted after the game that he missed the player he counts so much upon.
Five goals and six assists from right-back this season ?
Reece James is different. pic.twitter.com/zgEmOxqsZ3
— GOAL (@goal) March 5, 2022
Speaking after the Burnley win, the Chelsea manager reiterated the importance of a player of James’ quality. As quoted by the Evening Standard, Tuchel said, “We missed him for such a long time that we almost got used to it. I think it was like nine weeks, and we played something like 25 matches in that time. We were constantly trying to find solutions, and we did find solutions as a team, and we managed to win games and even trophies in this period.
“But once he is back and plays three times, and first time from the beginning, you see what we missed. It’s a huge quality, and it’s very impressive how decisive he is in training and the games. These positions are very important positions if you play with this structure and it’s the same on the left side. So it puts things into perspective when you see what we missed and I am very happy that he came back like this.”
James finished the game with a goal and an assist and played a key role in another goal for Chelsea. With the Englishman seemingly back to his best after the long injury layoff, fans will be hoping that he carries on in the same vein of form for the rest of the season.