Reece James: Mauricio Pochettino Gives Brutally Honest Take on Defender’s Red Card

• Chelsea extended their winning run by beating Brighton on Wednesday
• The game had one negative for the Blues, as Reece James was sent off
• Mauricio Pochettino admitted after the game that the red card was painful

Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, admitted it was ‘painful’ to see Reece James receive a red card in his side’s 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Blues are on the verge of European qualification thanks to an impressive four-game winning run in the league.

With one game of the season left, Chelsea sit in sixth on the log with 60 points after goals from Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku bagged them all three points at the Amex Stadium.

Reece James’ red card

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Things were going well for Chelsea on Wednesday, May 15, and Pochettino could afford to bring on Reece James in the 69th minute for only his second appearance since December.

The England right-back has had a season to forget, having been plagued with injuries. His latest setback saw him miss out on football since December following hamstring surgery.

He suffered a different kind of setback during the Brighton game. He was sent off for kicking out at Brighton star Joao Pedro, who had fouled him twice in seconds.

According to Chelsea News, the referee missed the incident but was summoned by VAR, who, upon review, gave James his marching orders.

What Pochettino said

Danny Welbeck gave the 10 men of Chelsea a scare in stoppage time by halving the deficit, but the Londoners held on for all three points.

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After the game, Pochettino was asked about his star man’s red card.

“No I didn’t see,” he said, according to Standard.

“It’s difficult to give my opinion because I didn’t have time to see the action. But it’s painful [for us] because it’s a fantastic night of football and he’s a really important player. Now he is going to miss the next game and a few games next season.”

James is suspended for four matches after picking up his second red card of the season and will not be in action again until after Gareth Southgate names his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024.

He will also miss the first three games of next season.

What next for Chelsea?

Now firmly in sixth position, Chelsea’s fate is in their own hands going into the Premier League final day.

Their last game of the season is a home clash against Bournemouth on Sunday, May 19.

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Mauricio Pochettino uses Coldplay lyrics

Sports Brief earlier reported on the hilarious incident where Pochettino used lyrics from Coldplay to sum up Chelsea’s season.

Prior to the game against Brighton, the Chelsea boss was delighted with a stat showing the club’s ascendancy since the turn of the new year.