Reece James heaps praise on 'amazing' Chelsea teammate after 2-2 Bournemouth draw despite costly mistake
Reece James scored a late free-kick to salvage Chelsea a point in their midweek contest against Bournemouth.
Chelsea needed a stoppage time goal from Reece James to help them avoid defeat in the 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
The Blues went in front during the Premier League contest with Cole Palmer’s superb first half goal. However, the visitors came out much sharper after the break as goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo put them ahead.
Even though James did rescue a draw in the latter stages, it feels like two points dropped given their dominance in the first half. Enzo Maresca’s side won’t be pleased that it’s now five consecutive league games without a win.
For James, it’s great to see the right-back enjoy a great individual moment given his poor luck with injuries in recent seasons. Chelsea will talk about James’ future in the summer. If the 25-year-old right-back can overcome these constant injury interruptions, he can be one of the club’s top players once again.
- READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Bournemouth as Moises Caicedo gets 5/10 and Enzo Fernandez shines in draw
Reece James praises Chelsea teammate Romeo Lavia
During a post-match interview straight after the Chelsea draw with Bournemouth, club captain James delivered a glowing verdict on teammate Romeo Lavia.
Blues midfielder Lavia returned to the starting line-up, showcasing his quality on and off the ball. Unfortunately, his costly mistake of being caught in possession early in the second-half did lead to Moises Caicedo giving away a penalty moments later, which Kluivert converted to make it 1-1 and change the game’s momentum.
“Lavia is an amazing player. He’s had some injury problems as well. Whenever he’s playing with us, he helps us excel in the way we want to play,” James told TNT Sport.
Apart from his one error in the build-up to Bournemouth’s penalty, Lavia was really impressive as he made his first Premier League start since 8 December.
The 21-year-old Belgian star slotted in effortlessly as the deep-lying defensive midfielder.
Chelsea’s Lavia is one of the Premier League’s most valuable youngsters, along with Levi Colwill. It’s a massive boost that he’s now back fit and available.
Romeo Lavia statistics vs Bournemouth
Lavia is slowly being integrated back into the side after returning from a hamstring problem.
First, the midfielder played 45 minutes of football in the weekend’s FA Cup success over Morecambe. He’s followed that up with just under an hour of league action at home to Bournemouth.
| Minutes played | Touches | Accurate passes | Recoveries | Tackles won | Dribbled past | Fouls committed | Match rating |
| 56 | 26 | 17/20 (85%) | 3 | 1/2 (50%) | 0 | 1 | 6.8 |
We’re confident that Lavia’s going to be integral for the Blues in the second half of the season if he can keep himself fit because he’s the glue in the centre of the park.
Speaking a couple of months ago, Troy Deeney said people don’t realise how good Chelsea’s Lavia actually is.
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