Former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer hailed the second half performances of both Reece James and Marcos Alonso following Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening, insisting they made the difference.
After falling behind to Raheem Sterling's close-range finish just before half time, Chelsea drew level just past the hour mark when Hakim Ziyech rifled in a low, powerful effort from the edge of the box, before left wing-back Alonso popped up in the 92nd minute to turn home Timo Werner's low pass back into the mixer.
Things could have been very different for Chelsea had Sergio Aguero converted his penalty right on the stroke of half time, squandering City's chance to go 2-0 up and move ever closer to laying their hands on the Premier League title.
Nevertheless, Chelsea, as they have so often under head coach Thomas Tuchel since he arrived in January, refused to throw the towel in, producing a largely dominant second half showing.
And for Match of the Day pundit Shearer, it was Tuchel's decision to try and push wing-backs James and Alonso higher up the pitch in an attempt to make the Blues more competitive in the final third that proved to be key.
"The reason why they were much better in the second half was because they got Alonso and James a lot higher up the pitch and a lot more involved," Shearer told BBC Sport's Match of the Day.
"You can see by their graphics there [on screen] what I am talking about - their touches in the opposition box between them. They had one in the first half, five in the second half.
"As I said, they got at least 20, 25 yards further up the pitch.
"Reece James, who I thought, particularly in the second half, was magnificent, gave [Benjamin] Mendy a torrid time. His pace, his drive and his quality to get up there... they couldn't handle him. There was at least three or four occasions when he was able to do that.
"But when he is doing that he is pulling everyone else up there with him. It was great skill to get into that position and there is his teammate on the other side - Alonso.
"With both of them getting in there [the penalty area], James is actually looking for him and trying to pick him out.
"His first thought is to get past Mendy and get it in there. It is a great ball and Alonso is unlucky not to get to it.
"This time, it is his [Alonso's] turn. He gets forward and is causing problems.
"I've got Alonso highlighted again. It's a good run from Werner, but he [Alonso] gets his luck and he deserves that luck, and James deserves it as well because they were getting in there and were prepared to gamble.
"That was the big difference in the second half. A big win for them."
