Pedro Neto has been speaking about Chelsea captain Reece James after his role in the winger’s goal at the weekend.
Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday, with Neto grabbing the Blues’ second goal at the City Ground.
It came from a free-kick that involved James, who rolled the ball to the 25-year-old before he fired it into Forest’s net.
James also managed to get his name on the scoresheet, netting Chelsea’s third goal of the afternoon. Following the full-time whistle, Josh Acheampong thanked James for being an inspiration after he bagged his first goal for the club with a header.
Chelsea duo Reece James and Pedro Neto vs Nottingham Forest
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Pedro Neto thinks Reece James is ‘unbelievable’ at free-kicks
Neto wanted a shot from Chelsea’s free-kick against Forest, and allowing him to have one proved to be the correct decision in the end.
However, the Portuguese has acknowledged that James is an “unbelievable” free-kick taker, so he may not take too many more himself going forward.
Discussing his goal at the City Ground, Neto said (via Chelsea’s official club website): “Reece is an unbelievable free-kick taker and to be honest, at Chelsea and even at Wolves, I did not take many free-kicks but I asked Reece if he wanted me to take it and he said, ‘Let me see’.
“We spoke and he said he wanted to roll the ball to me, and we are really happy with the end result.”
It was a great strike, while James’ was not too bad either. The defender got the chance to volley the ball home after Forest failed to deal with Chelsea’s corner properly.
In the summer, it was claimed that Neto was a target for Saudi Arabian clubs. After his latest display, Enzo Maresca will be glad that Chelsea kept hold of him.
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto dribbling with the ball
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Reece James’ last free-kick goal
The last time James scored a free-kick was at the Club World Cup during the summer.
The right-back had an opportunity to cross the ball into Benfica’s box but aimed for goal instead and ended up finding the back of the net.
In the 2024/25 season, James also scored from a free-kick in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, grabbing the all-important equaliser for his side.
Despite being a defender, James is easily one of the most technical footballers at Stamford Bridge. Neto is not wrong to claim that his teammate’s free-kick taking is unbelievable.