More

Chelsea captain Reece James admits side fell short of standards in 'sloppy' defeat

Chelsea skipper James: Qarabag draw disappointing and sloppy
Chelsea skipper James: Qarabag draw disappointing and sloppyTofik BABAYEV / AFP

Chelsea skipper Reece James admits they fell short of standards for Wednesday night's 2-2 Champions League draw at Qarabag.

Estevao and Alejandro Garnacho struck for the Blues in a scratchy performance in Azerbaijan.

"Yes, it’s disappointing," James said in the media zone. "Coming here, we wanted to win, of course.

"We set up pretty strong and we started well, got ourselves in front and then it’s disappointing to let it slip. The goals we conceded weren’t good from our perspective. We gave away a penalty and a goal that we really gifted them.

"It’s disappointing. We didn’t adapt well enough to certain situations, and the goals we’ve conceded are from our own sloppy play. That’s something, collectively, we need to improve on going forward.

"The momentum changed with their goal, and simply, we didn’t do enough. We had chances towards the end to win the game, but we didn’t take them, and we only have ourselves to blame for not taking all three points."

On Estevao again getting on the scoresheet, James also stated: "Estevao is an amazing player and he has the world at his feet,’ James said of our first goalscorer.

"He’s still so young and it’s on us to keep him grounded, protect him and make sure he stays healthy. He’s got a lot of development sill to come but we’re super happy with his performances and to have him here with us."