Chelsea do not have much time to collect their thoughts from the win over Aston Villa before facing Everton. We’re here to help you, if not them.
Chelsea spoiled John Terry’s homecoming to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but deep down, he’s probably a bit proud that the Blues won under Frank Lampard. Here are a few things he may have noticed about his once and future club.
1. The Reece James – Tammy Abraham connection has been established
It wasn’t too long ago when we were fawning over the burgeoning relationship between Cesar Azpilicueta and Alvaro Morata. The Spanish tandem produced the same goal on a seemingly endless loop: a whipped cross from the right flank by Azpilicueta, steered home by the leaping forehead of Morata. Hardly creative, but certainly effective.
Had you told me back then that Chelsea would still be scoring that same type of goal heading into 2020, I wouldn’t have been completely surprised. That it would be Reece James and Tammy Abraham linking up? That would’ve caught me off guard.
Reece James is the most recent academy graduate to stamp his name firmly onto Frank Lampard’s team sheet this season. You might even argue that he’s shown less of a learning curve than any of his young counterparts in adapting to top-level football.
He has a ludicrously solid build for a 19-year old fullback, and yet his physicality is only his second most impressive trait. His true calling card is his ungodly ability to whip in inch-perfect crosses.
His assist for Abraham’s goal on Wednesday demonstrated the angelic quality of his right foot. Where many crosses are smashed into the box with reckless abandon, James’ ball was softly lifted over the defense and guided gently onto the waiting forehead of Abraham. The whole sequence seemed like it occurred at half-speed compared to everything else happening on the pitch. Even the resulting header by Abraham seemed relaxed and nonchalant.
With service like that, Abraham can finally capitalize on his most underused trait: his height. He’s listed at 6’3”, and seems even taller than that on the pitch. He’s not exactly Peter Crouch out there, but he still looks like the type of player who should be nodding the ball home with regularity.
For whatever reason, Chelsea as a collective seem to love a low cross or a cutback in the box. Abraham has more than proven himself capable of scoring with his feet, but his lofty forehead seems like an underused asset so far. With Reece James now in the fold, Abraham should become an even tougher proposition for opposing defenses.