Conor Gallagher, who was previously on loan at Crystal Palace, scored the game-winning goal for Chelsea at Selhurst Park.
James received commendation for helping to keep forward Zaha mostly out of the game.
The right-back also uploaded a picture of the winger with the lock emoji to label him.
Clouts is a hell of a drug, though, Zaha said cryptically.
Prior to Gallagher’s late winning goal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had brought Chelsea to a tie.
Graham Potter’s tenure as the Blues manager got off to a successful start.
Potter remarked: “We’re thrilled with the outcome.
“It’s a difficult place to arrive. Although I thought we started off very effectively, we gave up after the first action into the box.
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“The boys deserve credit; they bounced back quickly and didn’t let their guard down. Getting an equalizer and getting back into the game was good.
“They are a good team with dangerous players, so we had to withstand some tough times.
“To trail by one goal and still earn three points is great, so props to the players. Character exists, that much is certain.
After giving up the goal, they might have felt sorry for themselves, but the players remained upright the entire time.
“The players had a sense of camaraderie. The three points have made us quite happy.