Xabi Alonso manager / head coach of Chelsea celebrates with Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill
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Granit Xhaka and Xabi Alonso
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Brian Brobbey of Sunderland has a chance while under pressure from Wesley Fofana of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Chelsea at the Stadium of Light
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FBL-EUR-C3-SUNDERLAND-DINAMO
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Xabi Alonso, Manager of Chelsea
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TNT Sports pundit, Peter Crouch speaks prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Chelsea
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Estevao of Chelsea celebrates scoring a goal, which is later disallowed following a VAR review
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Romeo Lavia of Chelsea applauds
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It is tricky to find a Chelsea player who didn’t play well against Man United on Saturday afternoon. Morgan Rogers takes the applause, but it was another who really sparkled at Stamford Bridge.
Wesley Fofana struggled, almost conceding when he gifted possession to Amad Diallo. But even Fofana played well-ish, earning a penalty, boasting the most touches (92), and winning five of eight duels.
Josh Acheampong was excellent; Mike Penders will be delighted he stopped Bryan Mbeumo’s effort, and Rogers took his tally to 10 goals and assists in 12 games, but for Romeo Lavia, it was his best display yet.
READ MORE: The Romeo Lavia moment missed by the cameras after Morgan Rogers scored
Romeo Lavia finally shows what he is capable of, three years later
The 22-year-old was on the receiving end of some praise from Zinedine Zidane during the international break, but Chelsea fans were yet to see that kind of form consistently in a Blues shirt; week in, week out.
But on Saturday, that was different. Lavia sparkled for Chelsea, dominating the midfield. He produced a whopping 23 defensive contributions and got the key assist for Morgan Rogers after winning it back.
Here's our Chelsea player ratings vs Man United! Who deserves higher or, perhaps, even lower? 👀
Time for Subuloye to replace Fofana. Subuloye is four inches taller than him, was/is a captain and we can't afford any more eff ups from Fofana
We could have been 2 down in the first half and that would have been down to Fofana. Much better 2nd half and brilliant to see a fit Lavia at his best. Estevao probably took his chance but needs to vary his game and not just cut in and shoot.
It’s a shame because he was a monster at Leicester. He’s still a strong and aggressive defender, but I do feel like he gets done so easily.
He was second-best for line-breaking passes (16), most tackles (5), second for interceptions (4), seven duels won (out of nine), and recorded 10.7 km (sixth-best among both teams). A truly wonderful display.
Arguably, it is his best-ever performance for Chelsea. Lavia played well for Chelsea before, like his superb display in a 3-1 win over Liverpool in 2025. But his 8.9 FotMob rating is the highest rating he has received.
Lavia also completed 90 minutes, only the second time he has done so – having done it against Liverpool in the week, during the penalty shootout loss at Anfield. Alonso is getting the best out of the Belgian.
Lavia makes history, first to do it since Lewis Hall in 2023
Not only did Lavia shine for Chelsea, but he made history. He won possession 14 times on Saturday, one of which set up Rogers. That total of 14 is the most a Chelsea player has recorded since January 2023.
Lewis Hall did it back in January 2023, during a 2-1 win over Fulham. It is the joint-most amount of any Premier League player this term, equaling Ezequiel Palacios’ effort for Ipswich against Nottingham Forest.
More proof that not only did Lavia produce a brilliant performance, but that it was his best since joining Chelsea in 2023 for £58m, the best of his 52 appearances for the club since moving to West London.