Reece James has spoken about how Chelsea prepared for their west London derby against Brentford on Saturday, which ended 2-2.
Chelsea were very close to returning to Stamford Bridge with all three points after Moises Caicedo scored a beauty of a goal to put the visitors 2-1 up.
However, Fabio Carvalho netted in stoppage time to ensure that the points were shared, which was probably fair in the end.
James played for England twice over the international break so started on the bench at the Gtech Community Stadium, but the defender was brought on in the second half.
Chelsea defender Reece James defending against Brentford
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Chelsea prepared for Brentford’s counter-attacking threat
Chelsea’s defenders really struggled during the 2-2 draw away at Brentford, with Keith Andrews’ side posing a real threat on the counter-attack.
However, it was something that the Blues did prepare for heading into the game, according to James.
“They caught us on the counter [in the first half], and we were prepared for that, but we didn’t deal with it,” the right-back was quoted as saying by Chelsea’s official club website after the match. “The second one is a set-piece where they are super strong and we didn’t deal with it today.”
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Enzo Maresca‘s men will now turn their attention to Bayern Munich, a game Chelsea fans will want to see James play from the start.
The 25-year-old is one of their best players and was recently praised by former Manchester City defender Micah Richards.
Richards described James’ crossing as “very good” as he discussed both the Chelsea academy graduate and Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Chelsea defender Reece James looking disappointed after Brentford draw
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Reece James on how Chelsea teammates feel about draw
At one point, it looked like Chelsea were going to lose their west London derby. They did not do much until Cole Palmer came on and equalised.
Before that moment, some Blues supporters would have taken a point. However, after eventually taking the lead and coming so close to winning, there is disappointment among the players.
On the mood in the dressing room, James said: “We came to win, and we dropped points today. We are disappointed but the game is done now. It’s time to focus on the next game.”
If they can beat Bayern on Wednesday, though, their mood will quickly change. It is a fixture that will see Nicolas Jackson reunite with the club following his loan move to the Allianz Arena on deadline day.
Jackson could have signed for someone else permanently, but the Senegal international really wanted to join Vincent Kompany’s team.