Reece James 'curse' strikes Chelsea again after Blues fall to Brentford defeat

28 October 2023 , 21:27

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Reece James 'curse' strikes Chelsea again after Blues fall to Brentford defeat

Chelsea fans are wondering why Reece James has seemingly become an unlucky charm for the Blues, who haven't won a Premier League game with him in their side all year.

Right-back James was named Chelsea's new club captain by manager Mauricio Pochettino at the start of the season, aged just 23, but has spent most of the campaign nursing injury. The England international made his return to action last weekend in a dramatic 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal before this Saturday saw the Blues welcome West London foes Brentford to Stamford Bridge.

James once again came off the bench and failed to help Pochettino's men pick up all three points, as Chelsea were instead condemned to a limp 2-0 defeat which kept their star defender without a league win in 2023. And since gaining promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Brentford boast a 100 percent record at Stamford Bridge, coming away with victory on all three occasions.

What also seems to be spooking the Bridge is James' presence. Despite arguably being the Blues' best player when fully fit and a product of the club's highly-rated youth academy, his continued struggles with injury have meant that he's only been part of one Chelsea win since the calendar year began amid seven draws and eight losses in all competitions.

That a was 2-0 victory at home to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 back in March. It was December 27 last year when James was most recently able to taste that winning feeling after playing a Premier League game for the Blues, although he came off injured during a 2-0 triumph against Bournemouth under former boss Graham Potter.

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Fans joked about the 23-year-old's impact on social media after the loss to Brentford, with one saying: "James got back from injury and Chelsea went back to default setting."

A second bemoaned: "This guy is a curse to Chelsea," while a third added: "Things always seem to fall apart as soon as he enters the pitch."

Reece James hasn't won a Premier League game in 2023 (Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

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Pochettino was in no mood to joke post-match, though, having tasted his first defeat in five games after overseeing a resurgent run of form which looked to have turned Chelsea's difficult start to the campaign around. "After the first half should score and we should. If you don't score you should blame yourself," the Blues boss declared.

"We were not clinical. Sometimes you need luck and after for sure the game changed in the second half. We cannot concede this type of goal."

Nathan Ridley