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Thomas Tuchel has admitted that the absence of Chelsea's first choice full-backs is the 'biggest reason' to explaining why the Blues fell off in the Premier League title race despite the most recent Burnley win.

The Blues have continued their resilient form since Roman Abramovich put the big for sale sign outside Stamford Bridge more than a week ago.

First off, their spirited performance in the Carabao Cup final coupled with the two displays against Luton and Burnley in different competitions demonstrates the improved mentality of the team.

But is it a surprise that in all three of these aforementioned fixtures, Reece James has featured in some capacity after his nine week injury absence?

His commanding threat down the right paid dividends this weekend at Turf Moor as the 22-year-old opened the scoring on Saturday with his low driven attempt that nestled into Nick Pope's far corner.

James then also provided an assist for one of the other three goals and his performance overall, alongside receiving customary praise from manager Thomas Tuchel, drew a big Trent Alexander-Arnold comparison ahead of the FIFA World Cup as Gabby Agbonlahor reckons he should start over his biggest competitor in Qatar.

"We missed him for such a long time that we almost got used to it," Tuchel said in his post-match press conference in Lancashire. "I think it was