The Blues captain, ordinarily a right-back, lined up in a double midfield pivot alongside the influential Moises Caicedo for Saturday evening’s London derby clash in the Premier League, with Enzo Fernandez playing in a more advanced role alongside Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto, in support of lone striker Joao Pedro.
And James delivered a combative performance in a position he has fulfilled on a number of occasions now under Maresca, once more showcasing his valuable versatility as Chelsea won away at Tottenham again thanks to a first-half winner from Joao Pedro, who ended his 10-game goal drought after Caicedo had forced a costly error from Micky van de Ven inside the penalty area.
Asked why he opted to deploy his skipper in the middle against Spurs as Malo Gusto took over at right-back, Maresca explained that he was looking for Chelsea to present a more physical edge against the likes of Pape Matar Sarr, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, the latter of whom was fortunate not to be sent off for a poor first-half challenge on James.
The Italian admitted that he was surprised to see Tottenham opt for four central midfielders from the off as Lucas Bergvall also started, though the Swedish international was forced out in a matter of minutes due to a head injury and replaced by the ineffective Xavi Simons, who himself was substituted in the second half.
“It depends a little bit on the game plan,” Maresca said of playing James in midfield. “I think today we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle.
“We expect them to play with Sarr, with Bentancur, with Palhinha. We didn't expect them with four midfielders, because then Bergvall also played.
“So we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle. But it depends a little bit on the game plan.
“I think Reece is doing fantastic when he's playing midfielder, he's doing fantastic when he's playing full-back, and he's doing fantastic in terms of leadership with the players inside the changing room.”