“Absolute madness” - Gary Neville left stunned by antics from Chelsea captain Reece James during win against Tottenham
Manchester United legend Gary Neville slammed Chelsea captain Reece James for an incident in their 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, November 6.
In a wild Premier League game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday, the Blues secured a big win over their London rivals. Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring for the hosts in the sixth minute via a deflection. Both sides then had a goal chalked off before it all went off.
Cristian Romero was sent off in the 33rd minute for a poor tackle on compatriot Enzo Fernandez, which also resulted in a penalty, which Cole Palmer converted.
Just around the 45-minute mark, Reece James appeared to elbow Destiny Udogie in the face while going for a ball. VAR checked the incident and fortunately for the Englishman, deemed it unworthy of a sending-off.
Neville, who was on commentary for Sky Sports for the game, slammed James' action, saying:
“What is he doing, Reece James? The captain of Chelsea. Absolute madness.”
It was James' first Premier League start since returning to action after a spell out due to a hamstring injury. He also started in the Blues' 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in the Round of 16 of the Carabao Cup last week.
Chelsea punish Tottenham's lack of discipline to secure big London derby win
A frantic first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw the scoreline at 1-1 and Cristian Romero being sent off. James Maddison and Micky Van de Ven also picked up injuries to make matters worse for the hosts.
Chelsea created a couple of chances at the start of the second half before Tottenham handed them another advantage. Destiny Udogie, who was booked in the first half, lunged into Raheem Sterling and was shown a second yellow card in the 55th minute.
Down to nine men, Spurs still held a high line, which allowed Chelsea to run in behind them. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made a number of sweeper-keeper clearances and saves before finally getting beat in the 75th minute via Nicolas Jackson.
Tottenham created a few chances to make it 2-2, with Rodrigo Bentancur missing a glorious chance. However, the visitors ended their hopes of a draw as Jackson completed his hat-trick with two goals in the 94th and 97th minutes.
The win took Chelsea to 10th place in the Premier League, nine points behind fourth-placed Arsenal. Spurs, meanwhile, are second, a point behind Manchester City.