Reece James speaks about the magical moment that may have got Chelsea back into Champions League | OneFootball

Speaking after Chelsea’s vital win over Man U on Friday night, captain Reece James was the perfect choice to speak to the media.

His return to the first team was one of the notable changes to the team, and it really paid off.

James on Chelsea’s “much needed win” to keep CL dream alive

Reece James applauds Chelsea fans. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

“It was a much-needed win, it was all or nothing to keep it in our hands. Manchester United set up well and made the first half very tough. We knew going into half time, we needed to come out, create a few chances and take one,” James said to the club’s official website.

“It’s tough when you need to win, when they come here and make it difficult. We need to ignore where they are in the table because it doesn’t reflect how good they are. I think we saw that today. They made it tough, but we’re happy to get the win.”

James on moment of quality which may have got Chelsea into Champions League

It was a game without much attacking quality on either side. Without Nicolas Jackson up top, against a Man U team happy to defend with 3 really physical central defenders, it was always likely to take a moment of magic to open them up, and that’s what James provided when he spun Alejandro Garnacho on the edge of the area and stood the ball up perfectly for Marc Cucurella to attack at the far post:

“I knew that I had space and time, and if I put it in the right area, then Marc [Cucurella] is always arriving, so I’m happy we were both able to contribute to the win today,” the full back said, hinting at the sort of planned attacking move from full back to full back that manager Enzo Maresca mentioned.

“What makes the difference in the end is the goals. They didn’t have many chances; they had one offside goal, but they didn’t have much other than that. As a team, we’re getting stronger and I think we showed that today. We’re stepping up as a group.”