When Real Madrid and Chelsea squared off against one another on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge, Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr. relished their encounters with Reece James.
Following the defender's return to Stamford Bridge, Reece James delivered a succinct but heartfelt letter to Antonio Rudiger. On Tuesday night, Real Madrid easily defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to advance to the Champions League semifinals.
In both the first and second legs, the former Blues defender contributed to Carlo Ancelotti's team maintaining a spotless record. Despite their best attempts, the west Londoners were unable to score; Joao Felix missed an opportunity at the Santiago Bernabeu, while Thibaut Courtois denied Marc Cucurella from close range in the rematch.
Rudiger used the blue heart emoji to upload a picture of himself and James battling for possession after the game. The England international then gave a lengthy compliment to his adversary in response. James penned: "Strong like iron."
James apologized for the loss to Chelsea supporters in a morning message to his Twitter. "Last night was tough to take, but we need to be better and we will be," the 23-year-old's caption reads. Thank you, the Bridge was rocking. I see you all and am grateful.
Rudiger and Vinicius Jr. could be seen offering their support in the comments area. The international from Brazil replied with a handshake and a shooting star, while Rudiger from Germany called James a "beast" and used a flame and clapping hands emoji.
Frank Lampard discussed Chelsea's recovery strategy in a press conference following the team's loss to Real Madrid. "We have to," the interim Blues manager stated. We have been lucky enough to succeed for 20 years at this level, in reality.
"Many Premier League clubs would fantasize about our success and Champions League victories year after year, Premier League champions. We might not be quite where we want to be this year, and there are undoubtedly reasons for the transition.
"You can't be too short-term with it, because a few years back Chelsea won the Premier League and we didn't qualify for the Champions League for the following season. The level of the game tonight may have revealed areas in which we want to make improvements at the club despite playing well.
"I don't think it's appropriate to skip ahead too much from the step in front of you. Seven Premier League games are the next step for us to demonstrate that performance. That is the norm. We need to focus on the final portion, which involves being clinical and grading.
