Chelsea star Jorginho has provided an insight into the much talked about decision not to hand his side’s late spot-kick opportunity versus Newcastle United to Reece James.
James at the double
Thomas Tuchel’s men were of course back in action a little over 24 hours ago.
After keeping hopes of an unprecedented quadruple alive courtesy of a Carabao Cup downing of Southampton during the week, the Blues made the trip to St. James’ Park, hopeful of increasing their advantage atop the Premier League table.
And, owing to dropped points on the part of both Liverpool and Manchester City, when all was said and done on Saturday, this is precisely what Chelsea managed.
A dominant 2nd-half display eventually culminated in a 3-0 final scoreline, owing to a brace on the part of Reece James, and Jorginho’s late spot-kick.
‘If he had asked…’
As outlined above, though, despite the comprehensive nature of their side’s eventual victory, on the back of the final whistle on Tyneside, some of a Chelsea persuasion actually expressed frustration.
This came owing to the fact that brace-hitter James was not afforded the chance to seal his hat-trick from the penalty spot.
Instead, as outlined above, Blues spot-kick regular Jorginho stepped up to slot home from twelve yards, rounding out the afternoon’s scoring in the process.
Many, in turn, called into question why James was not granted a potentially special hat-trick opportunity, with the stopper having proven himself a more than ample converter of penalties in the League Cup already this season.
An insight into the situation, though, has since been provided, by none other than the man at the heart of the drama.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil in the aftermath of Chelsea’s latest triumph, Jorginho hinted that he would have been open to the prospect of handing the ball over to his Pensioners teammate, but James, in the end, didn’t ask:
‘If he had asked, we would have had a conversation but he didn’t. He came over to support me.’