What Romeo Lavia just said about Xabi Alonso after Chelsea milestone
Romeo Lavia says he is enjoying life under Xabi Alonso after completing an important 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 3-0 pre-season win over AC Milan.
The midfielder played the entire game in Jakarta alongside Moises Caicedo as Chelsea produced one of their strongest performances of the summer.
Lavia has now spoken about his progress during pre-season and believes the work being done at Chelsea has left him in a good position heading into the new campaign.
“I was very happy to play the 90 minutes and I feel good,” Lavia told Chelsea’s official website.
He added that his confidence had come from the work carried out with staff at the club throughout the summer.
Lavia’s availability has been one of the more encouraging developments of Chelsea’s pre-season.
ReadChelsea reported after the Milan victory that the 22-year-old had completed 90 minutes for Chelsea for the first time since joining the club from Southampton in 2023.
Alonso later explained that he deliberately kept Lavia on the pitch despite the midfielder tiring towards the end of the match, with completing the game viewed as an important step in his progress.
Lavia has now offered his own assessment of working under Chelsea’s new head coach.
He said the players are enjoying Alonso’s methods and that the Spaniard has already started implementing his ideas during the summer programme.
Chelsea’s midfield competition remains considerable, with Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Dario Essugo and others providing Alonso with different options.
A fully available Lavia would give the Chelsea head coach another important one.
His performance alongside Caicedo against Milan offered an encouraging glimpse of what that partnership could provide, with Chelsea controlling long periods of the game and recording their first clean sheet under Alonso.
The Blues have now returned from their pre-season tour after completing five matches across Australia and Asia.
For Lavia, remaining fit and building on the minutes collected during that trip will be the next priority as Chelsea prepare for the competitive campaign.
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