5 hours Ago By Michael Hincks
VILLA PARK — With the game stretched as both sides sought a late winner, it was notable which Chelsea players were capable of tracking back in the 88th minute when Aston Villa were on the counter.It is safe to describe what Reece James was doing as jogging. This was his first full 90 since November, but he just didn’t have the legs.
From that fast break, Marcus Rashford found Donyell Malen, whose effort was saved well by Filip Jorgensen. From the resulting corner, the Chelsea goalkeeper had a calamity, allowing Marco Asensio’s shot to squeeze under him as Villa secured a comeback win that makes the race for Champions League football next season look tighter than ever.if(window.
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inews__post__label__exclusive{background-color: #e33a11;color: #ffffff;}ExclusiveNewcastle face competition for £50m Bournemouth star from Chelsea and LiverpoolRead MoreFrom a promising start, Enzo Fernandez having given Chelsea a ninth-minute lead, Enzo Maresca’s side crumbled, outplayed once Villa woke up and looking leggy despite having had more than a week to prepare for this match.Perhaps the eight-day gap since the Brighton defeat gave Maresca too much time to think, as his questionable and surprising decision to start James in defensive midfield certainly did not pay off.He was not solely to blame.
The finger can be pointed at Cole Palmer for a drop in form, and certainly at Jorgensen for his mistake, but James looked a little lost in defensive midfield, a position he had played just three times prior in the Chelsea blue.You have to go back to 8 December 2021 for the last time James was registered as playing DM, a 3-3 draw at Zenit in the Champions League, and coincidentally the time before that was a 3-3 draw with Southampton in the league on 17 October 2020.if(window.
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adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }The first occasion was on 8 March 2020, in a 4-0 win over Everton, and only really in 2018-19 during James’ loan spell at Wigan did he play a run of games in defensive midfield.
#color-context-related-article-3539778 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL Chelsea have sold their soul for a flawed visionRead MorePerhaps Maresca was watching old tapes, but when you put this current version of James next to a player of Moises Caicedo’s calibre, the gulf in quality is all the more noticeable.Caicedo made eight blocks, interceptions and tackles combined against Villa, compared to James’ three, and that wasn’t really a nagging issue until it was – when the game was opening up in the final quarter.The fresh legs of Rashford gave Villa the impetus they needed, with the Manchester United loanee drawing as many plaudits as Asensio the match-winner.
Rashford spent the second half causing Malo Gusto all manner of problems, and arguably James may have wished he was there at right-back instead, dealing with a player he knows well from their time at England camps. Aston Villa’s Marcus Rashford skips past Malo Gusto (Photo: PA)Together, Gusto (two) and James (one) made three of Chelsea’s five errors against Villa. This was their first start together in the league since the 1-1 draw at Manchester United in November, when James was at left-back and Gusto on the right, and it may be the last for a while.
Except, maybe it won’t be. A look to Chelsea’s bench explained why Maresca experimented with James in midfield. It was desperately light, although a penny for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s thoughts in this regard – the central midfielder not even coming off the bench when this match was crying out for changes.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }#color-context-related-article-3534842 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL .inews__post__label__big-reads{background-color: #0a0a0a;color: #ffffff;}Big ReadThe stadium options Chelsea are exploring - including two mystery sitesRead MoreDewsbury-Hall’s minutes amount to just 157 in the Premier League this season, and just one start in the league. Perhaps his omission amid the ongoing injury absence to Romeo Lavia is telling, but he now has a shot in training to show Maresca he is at the very least a short-term solution.
Chelsea need to find the answer, too. They were second when James returned the matchday squad, and now find themselves sixth.That is an unfortunate coincidence, given there are issues all over the park, but their season looks to be unravelling at a crucial juncture.
There’s always the Conference League, but from the position they were in as recently as December, missing out on the Champions League would be a failure..
