Revealed: Chelsea's new ritual led by captain Reece James in bid to instil unified mentality at Stamford Bridge

Maresca oversaw an impressive debut campaign at Stamford Bridge last season as he guided the team to a top five finish and returned to the Champions League. The Italian coach made a few changes in the offseason as he brought key players like Liam Delap and Joao Pedro to bolster his attack, alongside some defensive reinforcements. 

The team rebuilding has paid off so far for the Blues as they have started the 2025-26 campaign on a bright note. Chelsea are on a seven-game unbeaten streak and have not lost a match across all competitions since going down against Sunderland 2-1 in October. They are trailing league leaders Arsenal by six points following their draw against the Gunners last weekend and are placed seventh in the Champions League table with three wins in their first five outings/ 

Chelsea captain James has regularly featured under Maresca this season and has been impressive in a new role as he is being deployed in the defensive midfield role in the current campaign. He was criticised by the manager in the last term as the Italian coach claimed that he expected more from the England international. 

This season, James has come up with a new on-field ritual for the team where all the players need to gather near the centre circle at the half-time break before walking off the pitch together. The Sun reports that the reason behind such a ritual is to instil unity in the squad. Such a gesture brings a feeling of togetherness among the players. 

They started the ritual during the match against Tottenham Hotspur last month, which they won 1-0, with Joao Pedro on target. 

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After Chelsea's 2-0 win over Burnley last month, Maresca had lavished praise on the club captain and also explained why he is fielding the full-back in a new midfield role. He told Chelseafc.com: "I think yesterday we needed a little bit more physicality in the middle. We expected them to play with [Pape Mater] Sarr, with [Rodrigo] Bentancur, with [Joao] Palhinha. We didn't expect them with four midfielders, because then [Lucas] Bergvall also played. I think Reece is doing fantastic when he's playing as a 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."

James featured in England's penultimate World Cup qualifier against Serbia last month after missing out on Tuchel's squad during the October break with an injury. The full-back, who has suffered several injury setbacks since the start of his career, has remained more or less injury free in the 2025-26 season. He is regularly playing for the Blues in the Premier League and Europe and is now fighting hard for a place in the England starting lineup at the World Cup in North America next year. 

The 25-year-old will be back in action on Wednesday as the Blues face Leeds United in the Premier League.