Romeo Lavia made his first start under Liam Rosenior on Saturday as Chelsea went on to beat Wrexham 4-2 in the FA Cup.
Lavia recently returned from injury and Rosenior is trying to ease him into things again.
Understandably, Lavia looked quite rusty out there on the Racecourse Ground pitch, yet you could still see his ability at times.
Funny how it’s an issue when it’s Chelsea 🤔
Thoughts?
Micah Richards on disallowed Wrexham goal vs Chelsea
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
A breakdown of three of Romeo Lavia’s passing stats in Chelsea’s win against Wrexham
Despite his rust, Lavia’s passing was still very accurate in Chelsea’s victory over Phil Parkinson’s side.
For example, the midfielder completed 66 out of 71 passes at the Racecourse Ground, giving him a passing accuracy of 93%.
Forty-one of his passes were in the opposition’s half and 37 of them were completed, so 90% of those passes were accurate, as per Sofascore.
In his own half, Lavia made 30 passes and only misplaced one of them, which meant a 97% passing accuracy for that department.
Lavia was one of several changes that Rosenior made, and the 41-year-old has defended his rotation despite Chelsea’s struggles against Wrexham in the first half.
What would you do with Romeo Lavia after all of his injury problems? 🤕
His passing numbers against Wrexham in the FA Cup were solid 👌
Romeo Lavia's passing stats vs Wrexham
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Rosenior was initially asked about his selection and whether it impacted the Blues in the first half. In response, he said: “Yeah, that’s the risk that you take. We are going into a period of games where, for example, Romeo Lavia can be really important because he has to play minutes. We have to get him to speed.”
Lavia’s injury record will have to be discussed as the club finalise their transfer plans for the summer. Simply put, because of his fitness issues, they may have to sign a new midfielder.
Chelsea were recently linked with Aleksandar Pavlovic of Bayern Munich, for example. In terms of potential options in the Premier League, Chelsea are thought to have an interest in the likes of Elliott Anderson and Adam Wharton.
Anderson and Wharton are going to have huge price tags on them this summer, but Lavia could push Chelsea into signing one of them if he picks up another injury between now and the end of the season. Hopefully the Belgium international has put his injury woes behind him, as he is an exceptional midfielder when fit.
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