Lavia is getting more fit, and it showed during international duty with Belgium.
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Belgium head coach Mark van Bommel was full of praise for Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, who continued to perform well for the national team.
Lavia made his second start, his fourth appearance overall, for Belgium in this international break as they suffered another defeat to France on Monday.
After a 1-0 defeat in Belgium in the reverse fixture last week, Belgium landed the first punch thanks to Lavia’s brilliant defence-splitting pass. The Chelsea midfielder’s 60-yard through ball put Dodi Lukebakio in a one-on-one, giving Belgium the lead in the first half.
Lavia even earned praise from France manager Zinedine Zidane for the assist.
France secured the win in the end with their unbelievable depth in attack as three substitutes, Rayan Cherki, Michael Olise, and Desire Doue, inspired their 4-1 comeback.
Belgium boss Van Bommel was understandably frustrated with how the last 15 minutes unfolded, but he still highlighted how Lavia, who created his team’s “fantastic” goal, maintained his strong form.
“Romeo once again put in a brilliant performance. At this age, he’s much better than I was,” Van Bommel told HLN about Lavia in a post-match interview.
“We should be delighted to have him. He’s a top player in the making. If he doesn’t make it at Chelsea, he certainly will somewhere else.”
Lavia feeling well “physically and mentally”
At first, Lavia’s return to Belgium after a three-year hiatus seemed risky. His injury record since joining Chelsea is shockingly poor, and with the club being thin in midfield, losing Lavia would be a huge blow.
However, Van Bommel has been very cautious in managing Lavia’s minutes, refusing to start him in back-to-back matches. This limited the injury risks and clearly got the best out of the midfielder.
The 22-year-old will soon return to Chelsea to prepare for Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash against AFC Bournemouth, and he will do so while high on confidence.
It remains unclear whether Moises Caiceco will be ready to return for the weekend, so Lavia is likely to be in the starting line-up against Bournemouth.
Lavia has featured five times for Chelsea this season, including four starts in the Premier League. Fitness-wise, he has clearly improved quite significantly this season.
Speaking after the France game, the midfielder clarified: “It's been a very long time since I've felt this good, physically and mentally. I’m delighted. There’s a lot of hard work behind it. It’s a rebirth.”