Xabi Alonso refused to substitute £58m Chelsea star for one specific reason against AC Milan
Xabi Alonso deliberately refused to substitute Romeo Lavia during Chelsea’s 3-0 win over AC Milan, despite admitting the midfielder was visibly tiring.
Lavia completed his first full 90 minutes for Chelsea on Saturday after three injury-hit years at Stamford Bridge. ReadChelsea highlighted the remarkable milestone immediately after the final whistle, but Alonso has now explained why he was determined not to take the Belgian off.
The Chelsea head coach revealed Lavia had developed a mental barrier around completing matches following his lengthy fitness problems.
That made simply reaching the final whistle an important part of the plan against Milan.
🚨 Xabi Alonso: “Romeo Lavia has this mental block when it comes to playing 90 minutes, he was tired but I said let him play, let him play…”.
“We let him do the 90 and he finishes exhausted, I think that he is really happy”. pic.twitter.com/o9XaWnIVHC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 8, 2026
Lavia was starting to feel the effects of the game during the second half, but Alonso resisted the option of replacing him.
Speaking to Chelsea TV afterwards, Alonso said: “He was tired, but I said let him play, let him enjoy the 90 minutes.”
He added that Lavia eventually finished the game “exhausted”.
FotMob reported Alonso’s full explanation after Chelsea’s victory, with the Spaniard describing the issue as a “mental block” for his midfielder.
It is easy to understand why.
Lavia has made 43 Chelsea appearances since arriving from Southampton in August 2023, but injuries have repeatedly stopped him building momentum.
Before Saturday, he had been substituted in every one of his 25 starts for the club and accumulated only 1,858 minutes in Chelsea colours.
Against Milan, Alonso wanted that pattern to end.
Lavia stayed alongside Moises Caicedo throughout as Chelsea controlled the game in Jakarta. João Pedro scored twice before Caicedo completed the 3-0 victory with a superb strike.
The Belgian also played his part in the third goal, delivering the corner from which Caicedo eventually found the net.
One pre-season friendly does not erase Lavia’s injury record, and Chelsea will continue to manage him carefully.
The significance was simply that he got through it.
Alonso could see Lavia was tired and had plenty of options available from the bench. He chose to leave him there anyway.
For a player whose Chelsea career has been repeatedly interrupted before he could build any rhythm, finally hearing the full-time whistle from the pitch could prove an important step.
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