Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia was able to make his first appearance under Liam Rosenior on Sunday.
Lavia was injured when Rosenior arrived at Chelsea, but he was able to get some minutes on the pitch in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Before that, Lavia played in an Under-21 game, so the 22-year-old is starting to build up his match fitness.
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Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
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Liam Rosenior thought Romeo Lavia showed his quality at the Emirates
Lavia was only able to play for 15 minutes at the Emirates, but Rosenior thinks he still managed to show his quality in that time.
Speaking to Chelsea’s official club website after the full-time whistle, Rosenior said: “He came on and showed what he’s about. It’s brilliant for him, even though we lose the game, to get back on the pitch. He showed a really high level.”
Romeo Lavia of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
With Lavia still building up his match fitness, it was Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos who started in midfield for Chelsea.
Caicedo and Santos helped the Blues to have a lot of possession, but in the end, it did not result in anything.
Chelsea will now be hoping to bounce back with a win when they face Aston Villa on Wednesday. They will be without Pedro Neto after his red card against Arsenal, which was Chelsea’s ninth of the season.
Romeo Lavia’s passing stats vs Arsenal
Other than Robert Sanchez, Chelsea were good in possession at the Emirates, especially Lavia.
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Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
In his cameo, the Belgian managed to complete all 12 of his passes, giving him a passing accuracy of 100%.
According to Sofascore, seven of his passes were in Arsenal’s half and were all accurate. Lavia is a really good midfielder who is exceptional at receiving the ball and then finding a teammate. The Club World Cup winners have missed him.
Chelsea paid £58m to sign Lavia from Southampton back in 2023. Unfortunately, he is yet to justify that fee because of all of his injuries. However, there is no denying his quality; it is there and Chelsea supporters got to see some of it on Sunday.
If Lavia stays fit, that will change the dynamic a bit in the race for Champions League qualification.
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