John Terry has shared his thoughts on Chelsea’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Fulham on Monday, a game that had just about everything.
The only major ingredients missing from Xabi Alonso’s opening match in the dugout were perhaps a red card and a penalty.
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The west London derby also featured a tense exchange between Reece James and Pedro Neto, with the pair coming close to a heated confrontation.
James was furious with Neto after the winger failed to recover his position when Chelsea surrendered possession, leading the Blues captain to angrily confront his Portuguese teammate.
Terry has now weighed in on the incident, and rather than criticising James, he was impressed by what he saw. The Chelsea icon believes the confrontation demonstrated how much James has developed in his role as captain and leader.
Speaking about James and the incident on his official YouTube channel, Terry said: “Let’s not forget just how good our captain is, and last night showed me a little something from him and just what Reece is all about and how he’s growing in the leadership side of it as well.
“Pedro Neto comes on, doesn’t track back, Reece digs him out, which is for me unbelievable to see.
“You just need three or four other players doing the same as well, supporting that because the standards were huge for me when I played and Reece is driving those standards.”
James was entirely justified in his response. Chelsea were protecting a narrow advantage, yet rather than sprinting back to assist his teammates after possession was lost, Neto appeared more concerned with waving his arms and complaining.
Had Fulham continued their attack down that side and found an equaliser, his failure to track back could have proved extremely costly.
Fortunately for Chelsea, James produced an excellent defensive intervention to halt the danger before turning his attention to Neto and giving him a deserved dressing-down.
Things became even more frustrating when Neto, rather than accepting responsibility for his mistake, responded by motioning for his captain to stop talking.
