Chelsea right-back Reece James delivered his verdict to the club's Champions League round of 16 victory over Lille.
James alongside teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi and long term absentee Ben Chilwell, watched on from afar as he witnessed his teammates having to show their mental toughness once more to ensure progression. Burak Yilmaz's penalty five minutes or so before the interval wasn't enough to lead to turbulence on the pitch from the Blues players.
Thankfully for the Blues, Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta ensured that fans in the top corner of the stadium coupled with the ones who watched on elsewhere didn't have to endure a nervy second-half. "We are all competitors and I always experienced from day one, once I was part of the family, a very competitive spirit and a very competitive club," Thomas Tuchel stated after the game.
"I think Chelsea are so clear as a club about what they demand of every employee and every player: play your role, play to the limit, and take responsibility. This is what Chelsea is about and it sharpens your mentality and brings out the best of you.
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"It's normal to do it on a daily basis and because this mentality is installed over years and years, decades, it plays a big part as to why we can stay focused and produce results as we do at the moment when things are uncertain and unstable around us. It's already there and we live it on a daily basis, of course.
"We try to encourage and support the players in the best way possible, but still I am very proud that they can do it like this. Everybody plays a huge part at the moment, the staff and the 80 people who work at Cobham.
"It's good and we are competitive. We want to be competitive no matter what. It's a big test at the moment."
Ahead of his return and due to not being in the fold on Wednesday night, James posted on his Instagram story @reecejames, summing up the performance of his teammates with his seven word take on proceedings. It read: 'Great result lads. Onto the quarter finals.'
