Enzo Maresca reveals tactical reason behind deploying “fantastic” Reece James in midfield against Spurs

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·02 de novembro de 2025

Enzo Maresca reveals tactical reason behind deploying “fantastic” Reece James in midfield against Spurs

Enzo Maresca has revealed why he decided to play Reece James in midfield in the London derby against Tottenham.

Chelsea returned to winning ways in the league thanks to a 1-0 win, with Joao Pedro scoring the only goal of the game as they moved level on points with Spurs.

Vídeos OneFootball

The Blues should have won by a larger margin, and Pedro arguably could have had a hat-trick whilst Jamie Gittens missed a sitter at the end.

Enzo Maresca explains why he played Reece James in midfield

Maresca made a number of changes to the side which beat Wolves, and he opted to deploy James in midfield alongside Moises Caicedo.

James put in a brilliant performance in the centre of the park before moving to right back when Romeo Lavia was introduced in the second half.

James put in a brilliant performance in midfield. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

The 25-year-old was used in midfield at times last season, but it wasn’t something fans expected to see a lot this campaign, but Maresca has revealed why he made the decision against Spurs.

“It depends a little bit on the game plan, I think today we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle,” Maresca explained as quoted by The Standard.

“We expect them to play with Sarr, with Bentancur, with Palhinha. We didn’t expect them with four midfielders, because then Bergvall also played.

“So we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle. But it depends a little bit on the game plan.

“I think Reece is doing fantastic when he’s playing midfielder, he’s doing fantastic when he’s playing full-back, and he’s doing fantastic in terms of leadership with the players inside the changing room.”