Reece James has sent Wilfried Zaha a cryptic dig following Chelsea's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. The 22-year-old defender, who was up against the Ivorian for much of the clash, played a pivotal role in Graham Potter picking up his first win as Blues boss.
The Cobham graduate suppressed the winger so much so that Patrick Vieira decided to switch Zaha to right-wing in order to escape James' grasp. But, even after running from the England international, he found little to no joy when up against Ben Chilwell.
And, after the bout, James took to Twitter with a customary post-match tweet. The Chelsea defender posted an image of himself fending off Zaha and captioned it with a padlock emoji, playing up to the discussion and widespread memes shared among fans on social media.
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James' competitive rivalry with Zaha runs deep. A few years ago, in an interview with the in-house Chelsea media team, the youngster named the Palace talisman as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
And, in said interview, James revealed his awareness of the role social media can play when a defender makes a mistake - especially when up against a tricky winger. He said: "When someone makes a mistake, it’s always highlighted on social media. If the fans were there live in the flesh at a game, I don’t think they would have the same views but that’s just part and parcel of it.
"He’s a very good player," said James on Zaha. "You can’t really pinpoint one thing to nullify him from the game because you don’t know what he’s going to do.
"He can come up with anything so it won’t be a one-man effort, it will be collectively as a team. Everyone needs to work together and as a unit to stop him and to stop Crystal Palace."
It was no coincidence as well. Frank Lampard hailed James when he first locked horns with Zaha back in 2019.
"I thought Reece was fantastic against one of the best wingers in the league one-v-one," the former Chelsea said after the Blues' 2-0 victory. "A real threat and on the counter-attack. Reece dealt with most of those situations and he also joined in the attack.
"You can see how comfortable he is with the ball at his feet and his delivery and passing so I was pleased. I trust in Reece and out of all of the younger players who have been getting his chance this year, he has had his injury earlier in the season. He has got fit that little bit later but he has been training at a level and coming on at a level where he deserves his minutes today. He did brilliantly."
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