Thomas Tuchel was in attendance for Chelsea’s clash with Bournemouth, with the German starting take in a number of Premier League games before he announces his first England squad in March
Reece James sent new England boss Thomas Tuchel a timely reminder of his quality as he rescued a 2-2 draw for Chelsea on his return from injury.
Tuchel was in attendance for Chelsea’s clash with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, with the German starting take in a number of Premier League games before he announces his first England squad in March.
And James, who was the only Chelsea player in action who played under Tuchel during his spell in charge of the Blues, came off the bench to score an injury time free-kick which earned his side a point.
It was James’ first appearance in two months, with the Chelsea captain having struggled with hamstring issues so far this season. He has not played for England in almost two years due to his injury problems and when asked about Tuchel being at Stamford Bridge, James told TNT Sports: “I worked under him, he knows my capabilities.”
Reflecting on his free-kick, James added: “I knew it was a good distance and that side of the goal was open. There was a period where I was scoring quite frequently and I haven’t had that feeling for quite a long time.
“I think we had a few clear-cut chances that we should have taken in the first half and put the game to bed. It’s across football globally, if you have chances and you don’t take them then it can come back and hurt you.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was also delighted with James’ impact and is hopeful the 25-year-old can stay fit for the rest of the season. “I am very happy for him, he deserved that after a difficult moment,” Maresca said.
“It also gave us the point so I am happy for him and I am happy for us. I am so happy for him that he had this moment and the target for him now is to be fit until the end [of the season] and for him to help us in the way we want to play.
“It was probably one of our best first halves of the season. The way we were playing on the ball and off the ball, the way we created so many chances, we had around 15 shots, and the first half has to finish with a different score because at least 2-0 was what we deserved.
“Then in the second half, after the penalty, we dropped a little bit and we probably need to understand the reason why. The feeling is like a little bit of a shame because when you play the way you played in the first half, where we played really, really good, you need to be clinical.”
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