Mykhailo Mudryk and Reece James both played key roles in Chelsea’s 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
It was Mykhailo Mudryk who gave Chelsea an early lead in the first half, calmly putting the ball past Matz Sels after latching on to a fantastic pass from Cole Palmer.
That was eventually cancelled out by Willy Boly before former Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi gave Nottingham Forest the lead.
The 23-year-old admitted after the game that it actually felt nice to score against his old club.
However, Raheem Sterling went on to equalise before James assisted Nicolas Jackson’s winner a couple of minutes later.
Mykhailo Mudryk delighted with Reece James return
James had been out injured since December after undergoing hamstring surgery.
The right-back was finally able to make his return against Forest, though, and it was clearly something Mudryk was happy to see.
After the game, Mudryk could be seen in a video saying, ‘He’s back, he’s back’ as he embraced his captain.
Following the impact he was able to make during the game, Mauricio Pochettino will be desperate for him to stay fit.
James will have another chance to get more minutes under his belt when Chelsea take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
Where would Chelsea be if Reece James remained fit this season?
In James’ absence, Malo Gusto has not done a bad job. Like the 24-year-old, he is also pretty effective going forward.
Eight assists from the right-back position this season shows that.
However, James showed against Forest the impact he can make during games when Chelsea really need someone to step up and how accurate his crossing is.
With him in the side this term, looking at where Chelsea are right now, Pochettino’s men would probably be sitting comfortably in the top six. The fact that they could yet finish there despite James having only played nine times in the current Premier League campaign shows that.