Chelsea news: The Blues played out a 1-1 draw with Liverpool that saw plenty of positives and negatives in it.
Chelsea captain Reece James was slammed for his role in Liverpool’s first goal (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Chelsea star Reece James was criticised for his role in Liverpool’s opener in the season’s first Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues got their new era underway with head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who sprung a few surprises with his first team as he named a 3-5-2. The cohesion didn’t appear to be there early doors as the away side looked the more threatening, with Mohamed Salah’s through ball finding Luis Diaz to open the scoring.
It seemed as though it could’ve been two shortly after as Salah latched onto a pass to finish beyond Robert Sanchez, only for it to be ruled offside by VAR. The game then swung before half-time as debutant Axel Disasi latched onto a ball into the box to draw the game level.
The comeback appeared to be complete as Ben Chilwell beat Alisson Becker in a one-on-one, but VAR intervened once again to disallow the goal. A chaotic match continued to swing in the second half, but it ended up as honours even at full-time, with each team taking a point apiece.
There were plenty of positives for Pochettino to take from the game, with fans likely to be more hopeful this season than the last. However, one of his key stars was criticised for his role in the opening goal for Liverpool by former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane.
James appeared to see goal scorer Diaz running beyond him in the build-up to the opener, but doesn’t track back as the Colombian freed himself up to score. Discussing that, Keane told Sky Sports: “I mean, James doesn’t sprint back there. That’s why I’m talking about it, James can actually see him running and he doesn’t track back.
“We’re always talking about systems, but James might say ‘Well I’m a wing-back and that’s not my job’, but you have to sprint back and not let him get through. Look, I love James, I think he’s a brilliant player going forward but when you see someone running off the back of you, there’s no excuses. No excuses.”
The new captain will be hopeful it’s a one-off mistake ahead of a huge new campaign, with the Blues getting off to a positive start.
Soucre: football.london
