Liam Rosenior made some big calls going into Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Manchester City, which backfired.
One of them was obviously the decision not to bring Enzo Fernandez back into the fold.
Fernandez was suspended by Rosenior and Chelsea after giving a couple of interviews that the club were not happy about. Some will feel that disciplinary action was necessary, but they missed him on Sunday after losing 3-0 to City.
Chelsea without Reece James, discuss…
Malo Gusto and Jeremy Doku
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Enzo Fernandez’s and Romeo Lavia’s stock has risen after Manchester City defeat
Under Rosenior’s predecessor Enzo Maresca, Chelsea fans often saw Fernandez and Romeo Lavia line up in the same team in the big games when the latter was fit.
Instead, against City, Rosenior went with a midfield of Moises Caicedo and Andrey Santos, while Cole Palmer played further ahead in the No.10 position. They are all good players, but it did not work.
Caicedo and Santos crumbled under the pressure City’s attackers applied with their press, often playing safe and easy passes.
Fernandez and Lavia are braver passers of the ball. They are not afraid to play through the lines after receiving possession in uncomfortable positions.
James Garner of Everton battles for possession with Moises Caicedo of Chelsea, Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea and Romeo Lavia of Chelsea
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Lavia was not on the pitch for long against City after coming on as a second half substitute but showed that.
There was one phase of play where he even played an over-the-top ball to Marc Cucurella, which forced a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It was perhaps his fitness that made Rosenior decide to leave him on the bench, while Fernandez was unavailable because of his suspension. Whatever the case, in the future, they both need to be on the pitch in games where Chelsea are going to be pressed high.
Without even playing, Fernandez’s value to this Chelsea team has gone up, while the same thing can be said about Lavia after his cameo. Considering that, Chelsea should be fighting to keep hold of the Argentine this summer.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox