Chelsea stars Romeo Lavia and Noni Madueke return to training . (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
Pundit Gary Neville has asserted that injuries to Ben Chilwell and Reece James can put a dent in Mauricio Pochettino’s ambitions at Chelsea after both were substituted against Liverpool on Sunday.
Chelsea saw their opening Premier League game end in a draw against the Reds after goals from Luiz Diaz and Axel Disasi ensured the repeat of a 0-0 draw that fans of both teams have become accustomed to in recent years.
Chelsea looked lost at the beginning of the game and Liverpool commanded possession. But things were different in the second half, with Chelsea dominating the midfield and creating great goal-scoring chances.
Pochettino went with a 3-4-1-2 formation, which saw James and Chilwell on the wings. Both of them were lively in the final third and had enough chances to put delicious balls into Nicolas Jackson’s feet. They had a pretty good game at both ends of the pitch.
James was subbed off in the 76th minute. It looked like the right-back had picked up an injury, but Pochettino later confirmed he was tired, while Chilwell was replaced by Lesley Ugochukwu in the 90th minute.
Neville felt neither of the fullbacks failing to compete for 90 minutes indicated their fitness issues, and if they suffered an injury, it might derail Pochettino’s season. He told his Gary Neville Podcast (h/t Daily Mail):
”What we’ve seen [on Sunday] is that Chelsea have fantastic wing-backs, but they’ve both gone off in the first game of the season. That will destroy Pochettino’s plans.
“If you’re going to play wing-backs, they have to be outstanding players of high quality, who attack like wingers and defend like full-backs, and they have that. But the big question mark is if those two can stay fit. Those wing-backs are crucial and if they lose them the whole thing could fall apart a little.”
We had to be wary because it was the first game and we were up against a tough team that plays with high intensity, so Pochettino did the right thing by taking them off. Although Chilwell played the whole 90 minutes, he was unable to play in added time, so he essentially played the entire game.
James appeared exhausted as he played his first competitive game in a long time, but with time, he will rediscover his full fitness, and both will gradually return to their peak performance.
The full-back role has changed since Neville’s time. It is a lot more dynamic which requires tireless running. Moreover, we have Malo Gusto, Ian Maatsen and Marc Cucurella just in case… this is a position we shouldn’t be worrying about.
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