Chelsea: Four lessons learned from tight draw with Sevilla

2. Reece James is making the leap

One of the hardest things Frank Lampard has to handle this season is juggling the minutes of Cesar Azpilicueta, the captain and unimpeachable leader of the team, and Reece James, who needs to play on a consistent basis to keep developing into the player everyone thinks he will be.

Last season, Lampard had the luxury to be able to play Azpilicueta at left back while stationing James on the right. Now, however, the introduction of Ben Chilwell has put the two right backs purely in competition with one another. In this season where expectations have been raised from where they were a year ago, it’s Lampard’s duty to play whoever is going to get the job done.

Against Sevilla, James made a legitimate case that he might be the man to beat. Not only was he impressive in handling Lucas Ocampos, James was also one of Chelsea’s few attacking outlets. His crossing ability is flat-out special, and in a match where there wasn’t much time to do anything fancy, James was able to whip in a handful of crosses that just needed one decent touch to put Chelsea ahead.

From a Blue-tinted perspective, James was easily the man of the match. With James, you would usually think that a MOTM performance included a goal or assist, given his skill going forward. In reality, it wasn’t that at all. It was a solid, energetic, gutsy defensive effort for a full 90’ that earned him the plaudits. It was the kind of performance that Azpilicueta has turned in regularly for the past eight seasons.

It’s a stretch to claim that James is suddenly the superior right back, but the fact that it’s becoming less and less crazy to suggest so shows just how far he’s come in a short while. Hopefully, what we’re seeing is the blending of James’ impeccable skill with the mentality and tenacity of Azpilicueta. That was the dream all along, that the up-and-comer would learn the tricks of the trade from the wizened old master. No one really wants James’ success to come at the expense of Azpilicueta, but Lampard is going to have to make some tough decisions to put the club in the best position to succeed. Increasingly, James looks like the correct decision at right back. The best news for Chelsea, however, is that you can bet your bottom dollar that Azpilicueta will go quietly into the night. He’ll fight, and he’ll push James, and everyone involved will be better off for it. On Tuesday though, the day belonged to James. Time will tell if his performance was impressive enough for Lampard to give him a consistent run of starts, but he certainly put himself in pole position.