Chelsea and Reece James have had the last laugh after they managed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Before the campaign started and during it, many tipped Enzo Maresca‘s side to finish outside of the top five.
However, Chelsea have ended up in fourth place after beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 and will be in Europe’s elite competition next term as a result.
Chelsea fans were impressed with James’ display at the City Ground and they will also be happy with what the defender has said since then.
Reece James tells Chelsea critics ‘we are here’
James himself was understandably delighted with how the day played out. After the full-time whistle, James was even seen with Maresca having a little dance.
The right-back, though, got a bit more serious when it was time to talk to the media, using it as an opportunity to send a message to Chelsea’s doubters.
He told the BBC that “we are here” after Chelsea’s critics claimed that they were too inexperienced to finish in the top five.
“So many people before the season, during the season had disbelief,” James said. “They told us ‘we were you young, inexperienced and were not going to make it’. But we are here.”
James and his teammates have proven everyone wrong, and it will now be interesting to see what this young team can accomplish going forward.
Reece James’ numbers vs Nottingham Forest
Defensively, James and Chelsea as a whole were quite solid against Forest, and that helped them to earn all three points.
The England international managed to make a couple of clearances and block a couple of shots, while he was not dribbled past once.
| Reece James vs Nottingham Forest | Total |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Blocked shots | 2 |
| Tackles | 1 |
| Dribbled past | 0 |
Chelsea’s season is not finished, with the Blues still having to play the Conference League final and compete at the Club World Cup.
However, with a short transfer window opening before the Club World Cup begins, the club’s focus will not just be on football.
A player or two could arrive at Stamford Bridge before they travel to the US. Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is one Chelsea target going into the summer, for example.
