According to Jamie Carragher, Reece James has just demonstrated that Enzo Maresca's remarks about Chelsea leadership are accurate.

Before Chelsea's Premier League match against Newcastle, a lot of conversation focused on Enzo Maresca's remarks on his captain.

In his press conference prior to the game, the manager said he had anticipated greater leadership from Reece James. Since Maresca joined the team, the England international has had difficulty staying healthy; last weekend, he made his season debut against Liverpool.

When the team played Newcastle yesterday, he ended up starting both games, but his role had drastically changed. Maresca thought it was a good idea to start James at left-back, but when Chelsea lost in the first half, some people blamed him.

James was distracted at a crucial point as Alexander Isak vanished at the back post. According to Jamie Carragher, this incident merely demonstrated that Maresca's pre-game remarks against him were not entirely unfounded.