UCL: Chelsea defender told to prove himself after defeat to Real Madrid

Former Manchester United star, Rio Ferdinand reacted to Chelsea defender Reece James’s performance vs Real Madrid on Wednesday night which ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Blues.

Ferdinand in a statement urged James to ‘prove he belongs’ at the top tier of European football.

This comes as James struggled to have an impact in the game and was given a tough time by Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior.

Ferdinand urged the defender to work on himself ahead of a return leg against the Los Blancos 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.”