reece james chelsea 2021
In what was billed as a battle between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice, it was Reece James playing a makeshift midfield role that stole the show as 10-man Chelsea held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Throughout the match, the England international stood miles above everyone else, preventing Rice from controlling the contest as he has this season, while also posing a threat on transitions with his outstanding passing.
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His challenge increased considerably after Moises Caicedo received a red card in the 38th minute. Yet, the right-back still delivered one of the finest performances of his career during the 1-1 stalemate, setting up Trevoh Chalobah’s finish from a corner to bring up the defender’s 10th Premier League goal.
Half of those strikes have come from headed efforts at corners, and it marked his fourth goal in a London derby for Chelsea, with only John Terry (13), Dan Petrescu (7) and William Gallas (5) having more derby goals as defenders for the club in the competition.
The Blues captain dominated physically, winning an outstanding 11 of his 12 duels against a combative Arsenal side and recovering possession twice. The 25-year-old could easily have finished the match with more assists from his four crosses if not for David Raya’s superb stop to deny Joao Pedro.
Reece James was ‘fantastic’ against Arsenal
Still, he will be satisfied that Chalobah made no mistake in heading home his inswinging corner to put Chelsea in front—their tenth set-piece goal of the season, bettered only by Arsenal.
It’s no surprise that Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking in his post-match interview, described the Englishman as ‘fantastic’, as his relentless work rate limited Arsenal’s adventurous forward play while also keeping his team dangerous on the counter, making six entries into the final third and creating two chances, which ultimately secured him a well-earned man of the match honour.
Chelsea delivered a strong showing, though Arsenal were equally satisfied to keep their unbeaten sequence intact — now on 17 points — while maintaining a five-point cushion at the summit of the Premier League.
This outcome ensures Chelsea remain without defeat in their past nine Premier League London derbies (W5 D4), marking their longest streak under a single manager since the opening nine derby fixtures of José Mourinho’s second tenure during the 2013-14 campaign.