詹姆士：皇馬很強，但我們無所畏懼 - 切爾西足球俱樂部 Chelsea Football Club

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/04/15/
james-urges-chelsea-to--be-at-our-best--for-real-madrid-semi-fin

James urges Chelsea to 'be at our best' for Real Madrid semi-final

15 Apr 2021


Reece James knows he and his team-mates will have to be on top form to
compete with Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, though he
insists the brave Blues have nothing to fear as they bid to reach the
Istanbul final.


https://i.imgur.com/i2KWuXD.jpg


The Spaniards held on to their 3-1 first leg advantage at Anfield to dump
out Liverpool on Wednesday night and set up a meeting with Chelsea for the
first time since the 1998 Super Cup.


https://i.imgur.com/xYcuiT1.jpg
Winning The UEFA Super Cup


It will be our first-ever visit to Real as all three of our previous
contests have come in showpiece finals on neutral territory, most notably
the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup final and subsequent replay.


James was just over a year old for that Super Cup clash and will be hoping
to write his own history when the long-awaited, much-anticipated
semi-final first leg takes place in the Spanish capital in just under a
fortnight's time.


'You can't go into games with any fear,' said the young defender. 'You can
acknowledge a good team but you can't go in worrying.


https://i.imgur.com/0cjNRaJ.jpg
Tuchel and James celebrate progress to the semi-finals


'We're a very good team as well. We have many strengths, we play to our
strengths and I think that's shown over recent weeks. I just hope we can
continue our good form and keep improving as a team.'


Although James admits he and some of the other younger players in the
dressing room are learning all the time as they advance deep into the
Champions League knockout round for the first time, the 21-year-old feels
the team as a whole are more than streetwise enough to handle the unique
challenges of European football, as evidenced in victories over Atletico
Madrid and Porto.


'As we've progressed in the tournament, obviously the games have got
harder and it's higher stakes,' he continued. 'I've never been in this
position before, like a lot of the other young lads, and we're learning a
lot on the way.


'It's part of playing in Europe and in the Champions League. When you play
against foreign teams, they know what to do to get through games so you
sometimes have to give some back to them as well.'


James also acknowledges the omens building up in Chelsea's favour and
similarities to our 2012 triumph – a new manager in the dugout,
Portuguese opponents beaten in the quarter-finals and now Spanish
heavyweights standing in between us and a place in the final.


Hard work, togetherness and belief were the attributes that took Roberto
Di Matteo's side to that unlikeliest of achievements, along with a slice
of luck here and there, and James believes the crop of 2021 are displaying
the same characteristics now.


'The season started off a bit strange,' he added. 'If you'd said we would
have been here at the start of the season then we probably wouldn't have
believed you but it just shows what's possible with hard work, everyone
getting their heads down and working as a team.


'When you come to the later stages of competitions, you know you're going
to come up against top-class teams. We need to be ready and at our best
right from the start.'

--


Hoddle: 'Matthew will be sitting up there looking down now and

loving Chelsea being winners. He'll just love Chelsea winning.'


--