Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has urged Chelsea defender Reece James to ‘prove he belongs’ at the top tier of European football after he endured a humbling experience in Wednesday’s Champions League 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid.
Real Madrid defeated Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at the Santiago Bernabeu, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and substitute Marco Asensio.
However, James struggled to exert any influence on the Champions League tie as an attacking force and was given a torrid time by Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior who had beaten his opponent on different occasions.
But Ferdinand believes the England international would have been rightly upset at his performance, urging him to take it personally and use his time wisely between now and the second-leg clash at Stamford Bridge.
“The important thing is he [James] has to take that personally. As a defender there is pride and you know everyone is watching,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“There are millions watching, let alone in this stadium. You go home and you analyse your performance. You get in there with the analysts and say give me my clips. I want to see exactly what happened. Where did I see the points where I got it wrong today?
“What was my approach? Did I soften my knees on my approach, was I going in too upright, was I going in too quick and not putting the brakes on?
“Go through it with a fine tooth comb. Then it is about me vs you next week, gaffer, make sure I am one vs one with him and I’m going to prove to the world I can deal with people at this level because that is what it is about.”
