Xabi Alonso praised Estêvão and Roméo Lavia after the Blues secured a 2-0 Premier League win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Lavia came into the side because Jordan Henderson was ruled out with illness, while Estêvão’s start was a call Alonso had made a week earlier. Both repaid the manager.
Estêvão was given his first league start of the season after being questioned over his lack of minutes in recent weeks, while Lavia replaced Jordan Henderson, who was ruled out with illness. Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead in the 50th minute, and Cole Palmer added a penalty on 64′, after Lisandro Martínez was sent off in the 63rd minute.
Alonso said that Estêvão had known for a while that he was going to play:
“We spoke after [the] Tottenham [game] and he knew that he was going to be playing tonight, today. He has had the best response to show that he deserves more, that he was prepared, and that’s what you want from a football player, so I’m very happy for him.”
The 19-year-old had the most shots, most touches in the box and created the joint-most chances of any player. He also had two goals disallowed for being offside. Alonso added:
“He deserved to enjoy his game, he had a good connection with the crowd. He was really close to scoring that goal. At the end he fought really hard, he was tired and it has been a good day for him.”
Xabi Alonso Praises Romeo Lavia
Lavia, who assisted the opening goal, was also praised by Alonso. He said:
“From a midfielder point of view, for me it has been a top, top performance. He’s done so many things right, he’s been always connecting the defence with the attacker players, he’s been able to switch the game, he’s taken many right decisions, he’s been very dynamic, competitive.”
The Belgian has had a stop-start career due to injuries but played his second full 90 minutes in one week, the first two he has ever completed for the club. Alonso said he was showing an upward trend:
“So I think that not just this game, for the last two, three weeks he’s been playing at a very good level and I’m very happy for him and today he deserves a huge recognition for his performance.”
Chelsea struggled for spells, but Alonso said it was an improvement. He told reporters:
“We struggled at times but it feels good to get the three points, to get a serious performance. First half was quite intense. After 2-0 the sending off, the context of the game was on our side.”
The Spaniard told Football on TNT Sports it was a mature performance and a great win. The Blues are next away to Sunderland on 8 November.