Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has won the Premier League Player of the Matchweek award for Matchweek 9 after a dominant performance against Manchester United. The Belgian won 35% of the fan votes.
Lavia was selected from a six-player shortlist which included Declan Rice of Arsenal and former Blues midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hal, who now plays for Everton. Oli McBurnie of Hull City, Jan Paul van Hecke of Tottenham and Bart Verbruggen of Brighton also made the cut.
Lavia was the engine room of the Blues’ 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on October 31. He won the ball off Bryan Mbeumo early in the second half and played it to Morgan Rogers, who did the rest to score the opening goal. Cole Palmer then netted a second from the penalty spot after Lisandro Martínez was sent off for a second yellow card following a tangle with Wesley Fofana at a corner.
Overall, he put in some solid stats. He made 23 defensive contributions, including 14 recoveries, completed 16 line-breaking passes and won 78% of his duels
Lavia said that his form has come down to hard work in training, much of it unseen at the training ground. Xabi Alonso added that he had a complete midfield performance and deserved huge praise.
It is the fourth time a Blues player has won the award this season. Palmer won in MW1, Jordan Henderson won in MW6, and Pedro Neto won in MW7. They will be hoping he can keep up the good form against Sunderland on Sunday.
Cole Palmer Insists People Still Don’t Realise How Good Romeo Lavia Is
Palmer was quick to credit Lavia after the win against Manchester United. The England international, who scored his 50th Premier League goal for the Blues from the spot, was delighted to speak about his teammate. Palmer said:
“Today was one of the best games I’ve seen him play. I’ve said all along he’s one of my favourite midfielders, and people still don’t realise how good he is.
“Obviously he’s had his injury problems, but he’s trying to put that behind him now and put in performances like today. I thought he was the best player on the pitch.”
This is huge praise for Lavia, who has been plagued with injuries since joining the club from Southampton in 2023. After playing two full games in four days, he is finally looking like a regular for Alonso.