Keane slams Chelsea skipper James for 'not leading by example' against Liverpool

13 August 2023 , 18:14

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Keane slams Chelsea skipper James for 'not leading by example' against Liverpool

Roy Keane has taken aim at new Chelsea skipper Reece James for his role in Liverpool 's goal at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues battled back to earn a 1-1 draw but fell behind in the opening 20 minutes after Luis Diaz capitalised on his side's early dominance. It was Mohamed Salah who ran in behind before standing up his opponent and playing a through ball for the Colombian to finish first time.

Keane though has highlighted the role of James, who started in his usual right wing-back role on what was his first outing after being named Chelsea's new captain. The Irishman was angered by his apparent lack of desire to sprint back, which could have halted the opener.

He said on Sky Sports : "James doesn’t sprint back there. He can actually see him running and he doesn’t track back. We’re always talking about systems, but James might say ‘Well I’m a wing-back and that’s not my job’, but you have to sprint back and not let him get through.

"He might as well stop and have a cup of tea! Look at the space! James is the captain, he’s supposed to be leading by example. Look at him thinking, ‘Will I? Won’t I?’ Start sprinting back, man."

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James and the Blues were only behind for 20 minutes as Axel Disasi bagged the equaliser on his debut after being the quickest to react to a Ben Chilwell header. Chelsea then grew as the game went on and can feel aggrieved they didn't snatch all three points, especially when Mykhaylo Mudryk went through late on.

Chelsea were playing their first competitive game under Mauricio Pochettino and a defeat looked on the cards, especially when Mohamed Salah put Liverpool 2-0 ahead, only for VAR to rule it out, with the hosts levelling shortly after. Keane believes that the Blues will be more content with the draw, especially after riding out the early storm.

He added: "I think Chelsea will be (happier), especially after the poorer start that they had. I think Liverpool weren’t particularly good and they both looked like two fairly average teams in the second half. I think Pochttino will be happy though with his new signings, but the first half I enjoyed, the second half I thought overall was quite poor."

Chelsea's next outing is a trip across London to take on West Ham, by which point they could have another new arrival as they continue to be linked with Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.

Samuel Meade