Chelsea have just beaten Crystal Palace 2-0, and the away side barely had a sniff.
They were always going to struggle to score because of their lack of a true goalscorer, and their hopes were very much on Wilfried Zaha to create something from out wide.
Unfortunately for them, Frank Lampard had elected to bring Reece James into the team to replace Cesar Azpilicueta, and the youngster was brilliant in keeping Zaha locked up.
Sky Sports’ Statto Twitter account picked out a few of his outstanding numbers:
⭐️@reecejames_24 contribution on 1st @premierleague start⭐️
4⃣ Open Play Crosses – most in match
3⃣ interceptions – most in match
1⃣8⃣ Duels – most for Chelsea
8⃣5⃣% passing accuracy2nd teenager to start in @premierleague for @ChelseaFC this season #CHECRY pic.twitter.com/hm40ahrd4c
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) November 9, 2019
The passing numbers are nice, but really it’s the other three we’re most interested in. It shows the impact he had both in attack and defence, with nobody racking up more crosses or interceptions than him in the game.
When he makes an impact like that it’s easy to see why Frank puts him in the team, and it’s hard to see how he can take him out.
