It’s Reece James’ world, we’re all just living in it. He wasn’t the only Chelsea loanee to score this week, but he did steal all the weekend headlines, so it’s only right to start with him.
Headliners
Having won almost all of Wigan’s player of the month awards, earned a Championship Team of the Season spot, and been almost unplayable at right-back and in midfield, it’s been quite a season for the 19 year-old. Perhaps the only knock you could possibly have had on him is that he had just one goal to his name before Saturday but, away to a Bristol City team with three Chelsea loanees of their own, he changed that with a goal of the season contender:
Reece James WOW #wafc #cfc pic.twitter.com/3MOcDryERN
— ErlendL (@erlendL95) April 6, 2019
His Essien-like dismissal of his midfield foe showcased his size and strength before he went on to channel Frank Lampard with a stupendous long-range strike that left goalkeeper Frank Fielding with no chance. It was a goal that deserved to win any match, but the points were ultimately shared, not least because Kasey Palmer weighed in with a goal of his own.
Palmer had come off the bench to positive effect, while Jay Dasilva played an hour from the start and Tomas Kalas completed his customary ninety minutes. The 2-2 draw followed a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough in midweek in which Kalas and Dasilva played every minute, and it kept Bristol City in command of a playoff place in what is heating up to be quite a battle over the last month of the season.
One place and one point above them in the table, Aston Villa came away from Hillsborough with a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, a win confirmed late on by Tammy Abraham’s 23rd goal of the season. In reaching that number, he reached a tally no other Villa player has reached in more than thirty years.
Michael Hector was on the losing side for the Owls but did claim an pre-assist of his own for their only goal.
Over at Hull, Todd Kane and company are still in with a shout themselves, and despite Lewis Baker scoring his first goal for Reading, the Tigers rebounded to win 3-1 at the KCom Stadium. Baker’s strike stole the show however.
🚨VOTE🚨 It's time to pick your Goal of the Day! 🤔
Will it be @reecejames69 for @LaticsOfficial, @lew_baker for @ReadingFC, @danniebulman for @crawleytown or @scottkashket for @wwfcofficial? ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/lhSKYwBMf4
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 6, 2019
Matt Miazga played at the heart of the Royals’ defence as usual.
England
Premier League
Kurt Zouma and Everton beat Arsenal 1-0 on Sunday, while Michy Batshuayi got 82 minutes in Crystal Palace’s defeat against Tottenham in the first match at Spurs’ new stadium, opening almost a full season late. The Belgian then got just over an hour as the Eagles beat a Newcastle team that once again omitted Kenedy on Saturday.
Championship
While Villa and Bristol City hold on to those playoff places, Derby County are leading the chase behind them, and although they have a game in hand they will have felt disappointed to only take a draw away from Brentford this weekend after leading on three separate occasions.
Fikayo Tomori produced an eye-catching assist for Harry Wilson while Mason Mount got his first ninety minutes back after returning to fitness.
Ipswich staved off the threat of having their relegation confirmed for another week by winning 2-1 away to much-troubled Bolton, with Trevoh Chalobah coming off the bench for the last fifteen minutes, but there was no Izzy Brown for Leeds again, and it would be a surprise if Marcelo Bielsa seriously looked his way again this season in such a close promotion battle with Sheffield United.
League One
A big performance in goal from Brad Collins helped Burton Albion end Barnsley’s long unbeaten run with a 3-1 win at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.
Dujon Sterling and Coventry drew 0-0 with Bristol Rovers on Sunday; the young full-back spoke to the official Chelsea website this week about his journey this season.
https://twitter.com/tocfcws/status/1114543789560008705
League Two
A last-minute equaliser kept Nathan Baxter’s Yeovil out of the relegation zone, but Josh Grant missed out with an achilles injury that saw him head back to Chelsea for treatment.
Jacob Maddox played half an hour as Cheltenham drew 1-1 with Exeter City.
Non-League
Jack Wakely played 75 minutes as Basingstoke beat Southampton’s Under-23s on penalties to reach the Final of the Hampshire Senior Cup in midweek, and he was back in with ninety more on Saturday for the 3-1 league win against Havant and Waterlooville.
Ethan Wady also helped his temporary team-mates into a cup final as a clean sheet for Tooting and Mitcham United against Banstead Athletic helped them into the Surrey Senior Cup Final for the first time in 12 years. They celebrated that with a 2-0 win over Molesey in the league at the weekend, giving the American goalkeeper three clean sheets in his first four appearances.
Spain
Alvaro Morata played 85 minutes of Atlético Madrid’s 2-0 midweek win against Girona, but only half an hour in defeat at Barcelona on Saturday, in a match that saw Diego Costa sent off for abusing the referee.
Kenneth Omeruo missed both of Leganés’ matches this week through injury, while Josi Quintero featured for the second half of Lleida’s 1-0 defeat at home to Ejea.
Italy
Tiémoué Bakayoko was on the pitch for all of Milan’s midweek draw against Udinese and weekend defeat to Juventus, while Mario Pašalić played the second half of Atalanta’s 4-1 drubbing of Bologna and then 74 minutes of Sunday’s goalless draw at Inter in their pursuit of a Champions League spot currently held by…Milan.
Ola Aina remains absent through injury, but Lucas Piazon did finally see some playing time for Chievo, as he got 20 minutes in the 4-0 defeat at Sassuolo. The Flying Donkeys are away to Bologna on Monday and he will be hoping for more opportunities at the Dall’Ara.
Germany
Without the injured Christian Pulisic, Dortmund were hammered 5-0 at the hands of Bayern Munich on Saturday, leaving them a point behind their rivals with six games to play, but with the scars of such a hiding likely to linger through the run-in. Pulisic is expected to be out for another two to three weeks with a quadriceps injury.
France
Baba Rahman played ninety minutes as Reims drew with Lille, while Victorien Angban and Metz stayed top of Ligue 2 with a goalless draw at Auxerre, in which the Ivorian international was an unused substitute.
Netherlands
With Eduardo being dropped to the bench, and Charly Musonda returning to Chelsea to undergo more work on what will now be a season-ending injury, Jake Clarke-Salter is the last man standing at Vitesse this season. He played his part in a 2-2 draw against AZ in midweek then did well in an ill-tempered and controversial 3-3 result against PSV, knocking them off the top of the Eredivisie in the process.
Fankaty Dabo was back from injury to play all of Sparta Rotterdam’s 1-1 draw at Den Bosch in the Eerste Divisie on Friday night.
Belgium
Kylian Hazard saw an hour of action in Cercle Brugge’s midweek 3-3 draw against Zulte-Waregem and 79 more in a 3-2 win away to Mouscron on Saturday.
Turkey
Victor Moses was substituted just before the hour mark as Fenerbahce drew 1-1 away to Ankaragucu, a result that leaves them still nervously looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
Serbia
Danilo Pantic played an hour in midweek as Partizan beat Cukaricki, then all but three minutes of Sunday’s 3-2 defeat away to Vojvodina, a result that left his team 30 points off league leaders Crvena Zvezda.
Northern Ireland
Without Jared Thompson in goal, Warrenpoint were beaten 2-1 by Institute in the Irish Premier Division.
Brazil
Nathan came off the bench for the last twenty minutes of Atlético-MG’s 3-2 comeback win against Zamora in the Copa Libertadores. He was an unused sub in state championship action against Boa on Sunday.
Statistics
Started: July 14th
Final: May 29th
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe/Cont | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tammy Abraham | Aston Villa | 40 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3450 | 40 | 26 |
| Ola Aina | Torino | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2275 | 32 | 1 |
| Victorien Angban | Metz | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2056 | 29 | 1 |
| Tiemoue Bakayoko | Milan | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2972 | 38 | 1 |
| Lewis Baker | Leeds United | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 491 | 14 | 0 |
| Lewis Baker | Reading | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1497 | 19 | 1 |
| Michy Batshuayi | Valencia | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 952 | 22 | 2 |
| Michy Batshuayi | Crystal Palace | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 923 | 12 | 6 |
| Isaiah Brown | Leeds United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Trevoh Chalobah | Ipswich Town | 43 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3273 | 44 | 2 |
| Jake Clarke-Salter | Vitesse | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2895 | 36 | 1 |
| Charlie Colkett | Shrewsbury Town | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 306 | 6 | 0 |
| Fankaty Dabo | Sparta Rotterdam | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1625 | 24 | 0 |
| Jay Dasilva | Bristol City | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2383 | 32 | 0 |
| Josh Grant | Yeovil | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 720 | 8 | 0 |
| Kylian Hazard | Cercle Brugge | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1116 | 21 | 4 |
| Michael Hector | Sheffield Wednesday | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3242 | 37 | 2 |
| Reece James | Wigan Athletic | 45 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4005 | 46 | 3 |
| Tomas Kalas | Bristol City | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3586 | 40 | 0 |
| Todd Kane | Hull City | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3363 | 40 | 3 |
| Kenedy | Newcastle United | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1529 | 26 | 1 |
| Jacob Maddox | Cheltenham Town | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3077 | 43 | 4 |
| Mason Mount | Derby County | 37 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3745 | 42 | 11 |
| Matt Miazga | Nantes | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 810 | 9 | 0 |
| Matt Miazga | Reading | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1620 | 18 | 0 |
| Alvaro Morata | Atlético Madrid | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1245 | 17 | 6 |
| Victor Moses | Fenerbahce | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1076 | 15 | 4 |
| Charly Musonda | Vitesse Arnhem | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Nathan | Atletico Mineiro | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 835 | 22 | 2 |
| Kenneth Omeruo | Leganés | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2434 | 28 | 0 |
| Kasey Palmer | Blackburn Rovers | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 984 | 17 | 3 |
| Kasey Palmer | Bristol City | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 538 | 16 | 2 |
| Danilo Pantic | Partizan Belgrade | 29 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3043 | 40 | 8 |
| Mario Pašalić | Atalanta | 32 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2047 | 40 | 8 |
| Lucas Piazón | Chievo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 4 | 0 |
| Christian Pulisic | Dortmund | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 651 | 11 | 4 |
| Josimar Quintero | Lleida | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 693 | 18 | 0 |
| Baba Rahman | Schalke | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 4 | 0 |
| Baba Rahman | Reims | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 965 | 11 | 1 |
| Joao Rodriguez | Tenerife | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 447 | 12 | 1 |
| Ruben Sammut | Falkirk | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 967 | 15 | 0 |
| Kyle Scott | Telstar | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 995 | 14 | 2 |
| Dujon Sterling | Coventry City | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3307 | 39 | 0 |
| Fikayo Tomori | Derby County | 46 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4692 | 54 | 2 |
| Iké Ugbo | Scunthorpe United | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 936 | 16 | 1 |
| Jack Wakely | Basingstoke Town | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1355 | 16 | 0 |
| Kurt Zouma | Everton | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2838 | 34 | 2 |
| Total | 82392 | 1124 | 115 | |||||||||||
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | |||
| Nathan Baxter | Yeovil Town | 35 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3420 | 38 | 11 |
| Jamal Blackman | Leeds United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 2 | 0 |
| Brad Collins | Burton Albion | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3115 | 35 | 11 |
| Eduardo | Vitesse | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3060 | 34 | 5 |
| Jared Thompson | Warrenpoint | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1170 | 13 | 4 |
| Ethan Wady | Tooting & Mitcham United | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 810 | 9 | 3 |
| Karlo Ziger | Sutton United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 11845 | 132 | 34 | |||||||||||