The England international became the youngest player in his club’s history to score and assist in a Champions League game, beating Chelsea’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the second time before taking a third in a 3-0 win.
Wesley Fofana had previously opened the scoring for the home side to help Graham Potter on his way to his first European win as leader of the club he took over last month. With Chelsea at the bottom of their group for kick-off, the three points are vital.
Leao, a move for who was considered by Chelsea during a hectic summer of transfer activity at Stamford Bridgeimpressed despite Milan’s loss, but was largely well-ordered by James in the second half.
Speaking to BT Sport, pundit Ferdinand said: “What I loved about Reece James in the second half is that he was aggressive with Rafael Leao. He said: ‘I will defend you and also be an effective player on the other side. side of the field.”
“The difference with Reece James, he wants the fight. On the ball I think he’s as good as Trent Alexander-Arnold and defensively he’s a lot sharper. He defends much better than Trent in one-on-one.”