Reece James’ superb stats as he dominates Vinicius down the right | OneFootball

Chelsea’s big problem in the first leg of this game was the way that Vinicius Jr. was attacking Andreas Christensen down the right hand side.

The Brazilian kept getting in behind Reece James at right wing back and poor Christensen was coming wider and wider and getting exposed.

This time Thomas Tuchel has gone for a different approach, playing James in Christensen’s place, allowing Vinicius but then confronting him with the physical monster that is the academy product.

As always, James has also been a menace in attack too, something that will become increasingly important as time ticks by and as Chelsea push further forward looking for a goal.

It’s worked a treat in the first half, just take a look at these brilliant stats from James as he’s taken on the tricky winger:

We don’t want to jinx it, but it looks like a masterstroke so far. Let’s pray for another 45 minutes that good.