It has been quite a week for Reece James, the teenage right-back who has made Frank Lampard's Chelsea side even younger.

On Tuesday, as a substitute, the 19-year-old became the club's youngest Champions League scorer; on Saturday he made his first Premier League start. In between he was likened to David Beckham, by none other than Joe Cole.

James, whose spell on loan at Wigan last season saw him return with an armful of end-of-season awards, was tasked with nullifying the threat of Wilfried Zaha, and did just that, performing with such a degree of effectiveness that an uneducated onlooker, on being told that one man had 176 top-flight appearances and the other none at all, would have assumed the Palace man to be the rookie.

Cole's comments referred specifically to James' ability to send in accurate crosses, which he demonstrated just before half-time with a devastating low delivery, although Gary Cahill, on his Stamford Bridge return, was able to block the shot that followed.

But it was his defensive qualities that shone the brightest. James showed himself to be quick, strong and supremely comfortable on the ball under pressure. He was also quick to sense danger in the first place.